“BY YOUR WORDS!”

Matthew 12:33-37                       (ESV)

“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." 

Today these scriptures require little expounding to give me the direction that I need.   There are times in my life when I have been “quick” to make a joke about someone or something without considering whether or not my WORDS were going to edify or hurt!  And there are MANY times that I have been compelled to seek forgiveness because of my sharp, even mean-spirited remarks.  Those times are when I have been condemned “BY YOUR WORDS”!!!

Forgiveness is a strange thing.  It has been said that “a cut will heal, but very often it leaves a scar”!  It is amazing how when I was younger the practice of berating someone we used to call “cutting down”.  How many times have I left a scar when I was just trying to get a laugh??  Maturity has brought a realization that those scars, although healed, never go away!  

Having a tree that consistently produces fruit intended for anything but Glorifying JESUS should be a tremendous concern for a Believer!  Of course, we can’t understand the things of the Spirit if our EYES haven’t been OPENED to them (1 Corinthians 2:14-16)!  Unless you have a desire to SEE the things of the Spirit, you cannot HEAR or SEE from HIM!  My prayer is that my actions will reflect HIS presence in my life and “BY YOUR WORDS” I will be known as a follower of CHRIST!!!