The formula for living a fruitful life is very simple. Yet living it takes diligence with moment by moment, thought by thought intensity.
The simple formula for a fruitful life is to guard your heart, for every deed flows out of it [1], and life is a sum of all deeds.
Guard by filling it up with what is from God: the fear of the Lord, His heavenly wisdom, Christ’s love, Christ’s mercy and compassion, desire to see His kingdom come, just to name a few.
Guard by keeping it out of what is from the evil one: desire of the world and the flesh, lies against God’s truth, false identity, fear of people, insecurity, resentment and bitterness etc..
Guard by yielding it to the Holy Spirit. Left on our own, our heart is the most deceitful of all things beyond cure [2]. We must grasp the sad reality that we can’t guard our heart by our own effort. Instead, we humble ourselves to confess our vulnerability and ask for help in faith from the Holy Spirit, yielding our heart to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
No good tree bears bad fruits.
No bad tree bears good fruits.
Each tree is recognized by its fruits [3].
Our deeds flow from what is in our heart.
Good deeds are fruits that flow from the good dwell in our heart.
Bad deeds are fruits that flow from the bad dwell in our heart.
A life well lived is a life full of abundantly good fruits that flow from a well-guarded heart yielded to the Holy Spirit moment by moment, living in realization that “we can’t afford to entertain even one thought that is not of Christ” [4].
Notes: [1] Proverbs 4:23 [2] Jeremiah 17:9 [3] Luke 6:43 [4] Bill Johnson
