February 7 | Luke 6:37-45
- Ken Dillman
- Feb 7, 2025
- 2 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
The Heart Will Always Reveal its Contents
by Ken Dillman
Jesus is an expert on matters of the heart. The four Gospels record Jesus over fifty times addressing issues of the human heart. The God, “by whom all things were created,” (John 1:3) knows what makes you and me tick.
The heart is the seat of our spiritual being; it’s the soul, the mind, the central location within us that contains our thoughts, desires, affections, and passions; it’s what compels us to be the person that we are.
In today’s text, Luke captures Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, in which he acknowledges that the heart will always reveal its contents; “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.” (ESV)
What a beautiful thing it is when the Christ-follower allows goodness to flow from the riches of his/her heart, into the lives of others, the kind Jesus acknowledged when he said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” (Matt. 25:35)
Our “good treasure” is seen and heard in our kindness, gentleness, and compassion toward others. Jesus warns of the judgmentalism, bitterness, harshness, and condemnation that may be seen and heard in the “evil treasure” residing in our heart. The mouth will at some point tell the world what’s really in our heart.
As a Christ-follower our goal is sanctification that transforms us into someone who looks and lives more like the Teacher. It is our goal. The apostle Paul taught that this happens when we are “transformed by the renewal of your mind.” (Rom. 12:2)
As we stroll through the Produce Aisle at Kroger, we have a general understanding that the polished fruit in the bins came from a certain kind of tree; a tree that is rotten at its core cannot produce good fruit, a tree that is good will not produce rotten fruit.
What kind of fruit producers are we?
Do people get a taste of our good fruit, so much so that it tastes like Jesus?
I pray they do.
PRAYER
Father, by your Spirit, help us to live in the way of the Master, Jesus Christ your Son. Lord, replace anything corrupt in our hearts with your goodness and light. Help us to be producers of good fruit, that the world might see our good and great Savior Jesus.
My wife, Karen and I have been attending UALC for 6-7 years and enjoy God's presence in our gatherings. We live in Hilliard; our three adult children live in Central Ohio. I am a retired Chaplain and Pastor, and enjoy writing, walking, jogging, and listening to live music. I appreciate the opportunity to write for the church’s devotionals.
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