From the desk of Pastor Ben
One’s True Heart: A Parable

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.”    (Matthew 12:33)

Jesus’ short parable illustrates the obvious principle: a good tree produces good fruit, and a bad one produces bad fruit (Luke 6:43-44). The Lord used the word translated “make” metaphorically to mean “consider, evaluate, or judge” — we must make up our minds about the nature of something and its products or results.
We might use our sanctified imaginations and paraphrase our Lord’s words as follows: “Make up your minds, friends, about Me and My ministry. I’m either evil and an evil doer, or good and one who does good. But I can’t be evil and a doer of good deeds, or vice versa. God would enable Me to perform good works, and the devil would empower Me for evil. These propositions would merely align with the logical workings of God’s universe, but only one can be true concerning Me.”
Christ’s more specific point is this paraphrased: “Illness and death result from sin, and demon possession is evil and from Satan. Therefore, if I miraculously heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead, these must be good things because the result is a deliverance of people from the destroying power of sin. Anybody who accuses Me of doing good by Satan’s power, he attributes to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit. That is the supreme and unforgivable blasphemy.”
No matter what people like the Pharisees think of Jesus personally, His works have always testified indisputably to His divine goodness and power. (See Matthew 11:4-5; John 5:36; 14:11)

Ask Yourself:
Sometimes we’re convinced that our defense of Christ, which seems so easily defeated by a doubting skeptic, must therefore be in opposition to logic and consistent thinking. Today’s theme is one clear example of how God’s truth stacks up with common sense. What are some others?