Hans Sangtoki Bible Reading: Luke 6:43-45
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
It is from our hearts that our words and actions flow. A good tree will naturally produce good fruit. It does not mean the tree will be evergreen. Maybe in winter, there is no harvest. However, the good tree does not bear corrupt fruit. It’s fruit though maybe little will be sweet and pleasant.
On the other hand, a bad tree cannot bear anything but bad fruit. There is no possibility of good fruit growing on bad trees. Fruits only grow according to the nature of their tree. You can’t get figs from the thorn bushes or grapes from the bramble bush. You will only find figs on a fig tree and grapes on a grapevine.
The same is for our hearts, words and actions. Often, we hear from others, especially from the Christian community we have grown up in, that doing this and that is wrong or is a waste of time. “Stop procrastinating!”, “Don’t waste your time playing games and watching movies 24/7!”, “Read your Bible everyday!”, “Don’t hang out with those bad friends!”. We begrudgingly obey these commands because we have no other choice.
However, inside, our hearts do not agree. We love to procrastinate, to watch and play games that might be slightly inappropriate, to hang out with friends whose influence is negative. We do not love reading the Bible, having to spend hours at church, sticking to our parent’s rules that aren’t fun.
No matter how hard our parents or other Christians try to restrict us with rules, we won’t ever change. Good fruit only grows on good trees. Rules can’t change what we love because that is within our hearts. And what we love will result in the way we act. If our hearts don’t love God, then our actions will show that we love other things. On the other hand, if we love God, we will naturally love growing closer to God and living for Him. No one can force a heart change on anyone.
We were all born sinners, and our hearts were and are corrupt. Only God can change our hearts. Only He can turn our hearts from evil to good. Have you asked Him to change your heart? Have you asked Him to plant in your heart a love for Him? If you see how God has worked previously in your life, do you continue to grow today in your love for God? Good trees always keep growing and bearing more and more fruit. Is this our life and our hearts?
Lord, please have mercy on us and plant in us a heart that loves You. Who can change a man’s heart but You? We need You to work in us. Renew our hearts and make us new. Every day, Lord, sanctify us with Your Word and bring us to love You more and more. Teach us to walk in obedience with You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Hans Sangtoki (18) is the coordinator of RE Generation Z. He has a passion for serving his generation and sharing hope in Christ. He also has an interest in classical music and dreams of conducting an orchestra one day.