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Dec 09, 2025 18:00pm

Walking Through Luke: Good Fruit and Stable Foundations

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Have you ever eaten bad fruit?

There are lots of different kinds of fruit out there. You’ve got tart fruits like cherries, very mild fruits like pears, extremely sour citrus like lemons, and sweet, juicy fruits like strawberries. From huge watermelons to tiny blueberries, there’s an incredible variety. And fruit is good. There’s nothing like a juicy slice of watermelon on a hot summer day or a ripe banana with breakfast.

But fruit doesn’t stay good for long. You’ve got to eat it fast. If you have a bad fruit, you’ll know it pretty quickly. I’ve eaten a bad orange before, and it didn’t take more than a bite or two to be certain I didn’t want the rest of it. And if you’ve ever smelled bad watermelon… well, to me, it’s one of the worst smells out there.

Not too long ago, I got a carton of strawberries for my daughter. This was on a Saturday evening just before dinnertime. We gave her some strawberries, but when we woke up on Sunday morning and began packing her diaper bag for church, the strawberries were nowhere to be found. We checked the fridge, the kitchen counters, the living room—no strawberries. We were dumbfounded, but we were in a hurry to get to church, so we let it go.

Two days later, I got up early and began packing my lunch for the office. When I opened the cabinet where we kept our Tupperware—lo and behold, somehow the strawberries had ended up in the cabinet instead of the fridge! Unfortunately, after a little over two days in a warm, dark cabinet, they were completely molded. The carton was useless, and I had to toss it in the garbage.

Nobody wants bad fruit. If we see a banana starting to brown or mold growing on a berry, we wouldn’t eat it. We’d throw it away. It would be disgusting to rinse mold off a strawberry and try to eat it anyway.

Our actions and words are like fruit. Jesus said in John 15:1–5 that He is the vine and His Father is the vinedresser. Believers are branches off the vine, and branches bear fruit. Each of us—if we have believed in Him for salvation—is connected to Jesus. Branches are not their own separate entities. They are part of the tree. You wouldn’t find an orange branch growing out of an apple tree. A branch produces fruit based on the tree it belongs to.

That’s what Jesus is teaching in Luke 6:43–45. As branches, our fruit shows which tree we belong to.

Jesus said that a person’s actions reveal their heart. Does this mean anyone who ever does something good is a believer, and anyone who ever does something wrong is not? No, because Jesus is talking about consistent patterns of behavior, not isolated moments. Everyone does wrong sometimes, and even a wicked person has likely done something good at some point. Jesus was speaking to a crowd that included Pharisees, who believed they were right with God simply because of their claims and strict traditions. They washed their hands and dishes by a certain protocol, thinking it made them clean, but inwardly they were wicked. They were full of pride, refused generosity toward those in need, and looked down on everyone who didn’t meet their standards.

Jesus was essentially saying, “If you claim to be one of My children but consistently act in a prideful and selfish manner and base your worth on legalism, then you are not one of My children.” A true child of God is revealed by acts of kindness, charity, submission, and humility. These actions don’t save us—we’re not saved by good works. Rather, salvation changes us from the inside out, filling us with the love of Jesus and allowing that love to overflow into our relationships with others.

In other words, if you’re going to talk the talk, you must walk the walk. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus and say that you’re saved, but you consistently live in a selfish and rude way and show no remorse for sin, you need to take an honest look at your heart. Are you really who you claim to be? Is your heart filled with a desire to know God better—to pray more, know His Word better, and show His love? Or is God nothing more than an afterthought, if He gets a thought at all?

Jesus continues this idea in Luke 6:46–49. What are you building your life on? Many of us know the song about the wise man and the foolish man. When building a house, you look for strong, unmoving ground. You wouldn’t dig a foundation in a swamp or on sand. You want firm ground that will hold up under pressure.

If you hear God’s Word and obey it, you are like someone who builds their house on solid ground. Your foundation is secure. Your fruit will be good. But if you hear the truth—if you know you need to turn your life over to Jesus—but you refuse, you are like someone who builds on unstable ground. It won’t last. A relationship with God built on your own goodness and outward appearances cannot sustain you. Many people like the idea of Christianity but never truly surrender their lives to Jesus. They dress right, carry their Bible, post a verse on social media, and attend church on holidays, but their faith has no root. They can’t walk with God for long. Eventually, they fall away.

Do you produce good fruit or bad fruit? Does your walk match your talk? Does your behavior align with your claim to faith? Have you truly surrendered your life to Jesus and made Him your foundation, or are you trying to strive in your own strength like the Pharisees did? That road leads only to pride, selfishness, and misery.

Take a careful look at your life. Examine the fruit—good or bad. Determine your foundation. And if you need to make a change, then make it. Don’t walk away with your good works as your only foundation. Don’t miss what God offers. He wants to save you and root you in His righteousness if you will open your heart and surrender. Have you done that? If not, don’t wait. Respond to Him in faith. Seek His forgiveness. Live a life that bears good fruit.