Read: Matthew 12:33-37
33 “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. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Just a few days ago was the spring equinox marking the beginning of Spring. In 
Washington D.C. it’s time for the Cherry Blossom Festival (March 20-April 14). Cherry trees all over our nation’s capital are producing beautiful flowers. While people may flock to see them, we might ask, do they produce fruit?
In today’s passage, Jesus says a tree is known not by its flowers, but by its fruit. Flowers are for “show”, but fruit is what reveals the character of the tree. Good trees produce good fruit; bad trees produce bad fruit – no matter how beautiful their flowers or how the fruit might appear from the outside!
Jesus says we can either make a tree good or a tree bad. In farming or gardening, we can care for a tree and feed and nurture it so it will be healthy. We can prune branches and protect it from insects and disease.
In our lives, we can become good trees or bad trees. It’s a matter, ultimately, of the heart. While our conduct, especially our speech, reveals our character – whether we are good or bad trees – our conduct or words do not make us good or bad. They simply what we treasure. They reveal what is in our hearts. Good people bring forth good actions and words; evil people bring up evil actions and words.
In verse 34, Jesus calls the Pharisees a “brood of vipers”. In the previous passage they had seen Jesus heal a man and when some who were present asked if Jesus could be the Son of David they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Out of the evil stored in their hearts, they spoke words of spite and hate. They rejected the work of God and credited it to Satan. Though people would have said the Pharisees were good trees, they produced bad fruit. They rejected the work of God in their midst.
Words and actions will not save us. But, if we are to become the good trees that produce good fruit; if we are to be the kind of people who speak from a heart full of good treasure; we need the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to change us. We need new hearts. When our hearts have been transformed, our words and actions will reflect it. Our lives will bear good fruit and it will be fruit that lasts.
It starts with faith. We trust in Jesus and his work on the cross. We accept our spiritual emptiness and accept his gracious offer to take our place. In his death and resurrection, we find life and become new creations. In this new relationship, we receive the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of our future with God.
Now, we work out our salvation with fear and trembling knowing we cannot transform ourselves, God is doing that, but we must cooperate with him (Philippians 2:12-13). Grace is not against effort, it’s against earning. We must seek after God through spiritual practices like meditating on Scripture; conversational prayer; solitude; fasting; worship; service; self-reflection; confession; gratitude. When we pursue Jesus with our whole hearts, we give the Holy Spirit space to transform us…to prune what doesn’t belong; to fertilize what is good; to make us more like Jesus.
Take time to consider the major parts of your life – family, work, church, friendships, your personal relationship with God. Ask God to show you places where you fall short of Christlikeness. Ask God to do whatever work needs to be done to make you a “good tree” in that area. Be as honest as you can about areas in your life that are not producing good fruit. Invite him to transform every area. Consider what he would invite you go do to cooperate in that process!