The Heart Speaks
Jennifer Mahone
Photo by GEORGE ALEXANDRU NOVAC on Unsplash
“For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him,
and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.
But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement
for every careless word that they have spoken.
For by your words you will be acquitted,
and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12:34b-37
The words we speak are powerful and they also reveal the depths of our heart. Have you ever just sat and observed someone? You may or may not know them but we find ourselves watching intently their every move; listening to their every word. We listen to the way they speak and watch their reactions to unexpected situations. We do this with our children and their friends. We evaluate people to see if they are safe or can be trusted and often times may even pass judgement on them.
This is what the Pharisees did to Jesus in Matthew 12. They followed him and criticized his every word. They judged his every action. But the response of Jesus is what I love about this particular chapter in Matthew.
He responded like this: v7 “If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.”
Jesus was healing bodies, touching lives and and giving life, but religion attempted to halt the plan of God. So we find in Matthew 12:34 where Jesus addressed the Pharisees on their religious minds and spoke truth about the heart of man. “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.”
What was interesting to me though was the scripture that came before this particular verse. It says in Matthew 12:33 “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and it’s fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by it’s fruit.”
The Message Bible refers to the trees as “healthy” or “diseased,” so my question to God was, “what causes a tree to become diseased?” And this is what He revealed to me.
A tree has 2 root systems:
Perennial Roots – which are those that are continual or recurrent, lasting for an indefinitely long time, they are enduring. (Which represents our personal relationship with God)
Feeder Roots – these serve as the food supply; feeding another. (These represent those relationships that God places in our life for a season, no matter the length of the season)
The major functions of the feeder roots is the absorption of water and minerals. Under normal conditions feeder roots die and are replaced on a regular basis. Each season of our life may bring new relationships. God places us in one another’s life to be an encouragement through that particular season. We feed Gods word to each other, building one another’s faith in God.
Hebrews 10:25 says “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
So we know the purpose of the roots but what is it that causes the root to become diseased? There are many ways to injure tree roots and stress trees. Some injuries are unintentional and can not be avoided. The three biggest killers of trees are listed below. Bear with me as we dig deep into the spiritual meaning of each:
Soil Compaction – soil compaction restricts water and oxygen uptake by roots (ex: roads, parking lots, foot traffic, construction machinery, poor soil preparation) The spiritual meaning is Stuffing. I’m sure we have all either known a stuffer or we are guilty of being the one who stuffs. I was guilty of this one for years. I never knew just how to communicate exactly what I was feeling, I was afraid of saying the wrong thing, upsetting others, or just feeling like I didn’t know enough to speak up. I stuffed it all away, deep, compacted until I spiritually suffocated and began to wither in my own relationship with God. You see, the soil didn’t compact itself but it was the other surroundings that caused the tree to be restricted from the very thing it needed, water and oxygen. Water represents the Holy Spirit inside of us and the Oxygen is our lifeline to God.
Removal of soil/Changes in soil depth – this also reduces the amount of oxygen and water to the root if more soil is added. The removal of soil can expose and injure roots, change soil condition, and reduce water. What really stood out to me was the fact that by removing soil we end up exposing, and ultimately, injuring the roots. This is a picture of Misleading/Gossiping. Imagine the hurt and damage we cause others when we begin to uncover their faults. We injure the very opportunity that God has given us. Our words and judgement are like a disease that has been fed through the roots to the body. But what we don’t realize is that we are not only poisoning a few of the feeder roots but we have injected just enough to travel through every root straight up into the body.
Over – and Under watering, improper fertilization – over watering causes the soil pores to fill with eater and restrict oxygen. Under watering does not provide sufficient water for proper root development (our growth is restricted). Over fertilization can injure roots and stress trees and under fertilization results in a lack of minerals essential to maintain a heathy tree. The bottom line: A Competition between the roots takes place. A fight for what little is left and therefore the tree slowly begins to die. We get so caught up in comparing ourselves to one another that we enter a massive competition that slowly but surely takes our attention off of God and onto each other. What happens in the end? We have lost both our relationship with God and those He placed in our life for a reason.
Root disease is not always easy to detect but we can become more familiar with its symptoms. There may be a change in outer appearance. A discoloration in the leaves occurs. Things such as mushrooms, conks, and white fungus begin to grow at the base near the roots and beneath the bark. What does all this mean? Why are we talking about trees? Because in Gods word He always referenced a tree to the people. Think of it this way: we have a good friend, stunning, beautiful, always takes good care of him/herself. Then one day, all of a sudden, they show up not at all in the appearance that we are used to seeing them in. Ok…so maybe they are just having a rough day. Then the following day, it’s the same thing. Week after week this friend slowly takes a dive from their true character. What happened? What went wrong? Something happened in that persons life and the roots of their soul became diseased, which traveled throughout the entire body causing them to begin to die spiritually.
What can we do to save the tree? Once the tree is infected, it is difficult to control a root disease. The disease most likely entered the tree due to some form of stress or injury, but there is still hope. It may not be easy to restore the trees health but if the stress is eliminated, the trees vigor may be restored.
Vigor is the active or effective force —- or in this case “God”
God is our exuberant and resilient strength and vitality. When we look at the word vitality, it means “the capacity for survival or the continuation of a meaningful or purposeful existence.”
How great it is to know that with God we can be fully restored to our original purpose. Adequate watering and fertilization is a must though. This means we must consistently pray, read and study the word of God, and worship Him for all He has done in our life.
I know this was a lot of information but I am also grateful for the understanding that God reveals to us in His word. Isn’t it amazing how God can liken us to a tree and bring full understanding of the things in our life that do not belong and the instruction of how we must continue to feed the roots of our life?
One last thing I must share with you. If the root system of a tree is severely damaged, tree removal may be recommended. A tree with structurally weakened roots can become a dangerous liability, especially during severe wind storms. We must know when its time to remove that which does not belong in our life, whether it be a person or thing.
John 15:1-4 says it like this:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
Allow God to cut away the things that do not belong; that only cause more stress in your life, and let Him continue to prune to areas that bear much fruit. When we remain in Him we are “…like a tree that is planted by the water that sends out it’s roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; it’s leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:8
We Must remain in Him and He will remain in us.
Be blessed!
Jennifer
