Rooted in Jesus

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognised by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes or grapes from briars. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6: 43 – 45

I have unfortunately discovered this week how true these verses are; that when unresolved frustration and anger are stored up in the heart, the mouth will act as a safety valve and when the pressure is too much, all the frustration and anger pour out in a bitter flood. Thank goodness for the gracious forgiveness of both Jesus and those offended by my words.

There is no doubt our words reflect what is happening in our hearts. When our hearts are full of love, grace, patience and so on, our words will reflect this.  If we have unresolved anger, frustration, bitterness, unforgiveness, fear, feelings of unworthiness, insecurity, inadequacy and rejection both from current situations and those from our past, our words will reflect these. The words may come out quite calmly and in ordinary conversation not as an angry outburst but there will be nevertheless glimpses of the heart’s condition.

So how do we improve the heart’s condition?  There is no doubt Jesus does not want us carrying around all these negative emotions as they are damaging to both our lives and the lives of those around us. Jesus wants to heal us from past hurts, abusive situations, fear, pride, feelings of rejection, unworthiness and inadequacy. He also wants to show us how not to get into situations of unresolved anger and frustration so that our mouths do not become an unpleasant safety valve like a pressure cooker exploding!

The way is shown by the preceding verses about good trees and good fruit.  Trees bear fruit based on their character and what they are rooted in.  When we become Christians we change from bearing the bad fruit of the flesh to bearing the good fruit of the Spirit. The process for doing this and it is a process is by rooting ourselves into Jesus. Colossians 2: 7 says: So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.

We become rooted in Jesus as we live in the Word and with worship and thanksgiving we let him transform our lives. There is no situation that Jesus cannot redeem. There are Godly men and women today who grew up in the most abusive and horrendous circumstances but as they rooted themselves in the Word, God changed their lives, their attitudes and their thinking and their mouths too came into line reflecting the inner transformation. 

Whether our lives need a major overhaul or a minor adjustment, let us not give up but continue to cooperate in God’s transforming, redeeming work by rooting ourselves in the Word.  Good fruit will grow in our hearts and our mouths will overflow with the good fruit of the Spirit.