Barren or Bountiful?

Image credit
One time, “Jesus was hungry. He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. Then Jesus said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat your fruit again!’” (Mark 11:12b-14a, NLT) Then the next day,“the disciples noticed [that the fig tree] had withered from the roots up.” (v. 20b) Now there are those who criticize Him for cursing the fig tree. After all, Mark himself pointed out that “there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit.” (v. 13b) So, why look for fruit when it’s not yet the season for it? They felt that if it’s the season for figs but there wasn’t any, then He can curse the tree. Wasn’t that unfair? 
Figs. Image credit
According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary, “In Palestine fig trees produced crops of small edible buds in March followed by the appearance of large green leaves in early April. This early green ‘fruit’ (buds) was common food for local peasants.” So, even if it was not yet fruit season, it was just right for Jesus to look for figs since the tree was “in full leaf”. Because it had many leaves, it was just reasonable for Him to expect fruit. Sadly, “An absence of these buds despite the tree’s green foliage promising their presence indicated it would bear no fruit that year.” (Ibid) The Lord just made sure that it will never bear fruit ever again. 
Image credit 
Here we see that the Lord desires fruit, not leaves, in our life and ministry. Activity does not always mean achievement. Through the cursing of the fig tree, the Lord is teaching us that we can be so busy (and tired) with church activities (“leaves”) and yet still fail to bear the fruit He is looking for. We can be busy and yet not be fruitful. I’m not saying that church activities are wrong per se. But if they are the end by themselves, it could even keep us from fruit bearing. Yet if they are the means towards the end, that is, making disciples or committed followers of the Lord, then we bear the fruit that He wants us to have. 

Brothers and sisters, would our Lord find fruit in us?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God Knows Judas Not Pay

In the National Geographic Magazine (May 2006 issue), in its cover story, The Judas Gospel , Professor Eliane Pagels of Princeton University claimed that the so-called gospel of Judas “ changes the history of early Christianity. ” Even UP Professor Randy David took notice of the Judas Gospel: “Strictly from a sociological standpoint, I think the discovery of the Gospel of Judas makes Christianity a far more interesting religion than what centuries of metaphysical theology has made of it.” (A Gospel for the Postmodern, Phil. Daily Inquirer, April 16, 2006) That’s why I spoke in our Young Pro Fellowship a few days ago on God Knows Judas Not Pay (A Biblical Response on the Judas Gospel). I believe opportunities like this hype on the Judas Gospel or the Da Vinci Code opens a door for us to share the true Gospel. For those who did not attend last Thursday, let me share briefly why we reject the Judas gospel. I came up with the acronym J-U-D-A-S. J udas was portrayed as a traitor in the Bibl
Read more

“Ubus-ubos Biyaya, Bukas Nakatunganga”

Image
That’s what my mother always told us when we were still kids. (Translation: “You spend everything today, you will have nothing tomorrow.” ) Image source: So, What's New ? Dionie did just that. Last April 2008, he won PHP14,125,032 in the Lotto 6/42 draw. Excitedly, he “lived the life of a millionaire, something he had been longing to experience. He lived in a P4-million house in a posh subdivision, drove around in a sports utility vehicle [which he bought the very same day he claimed his prize] , and gave goodwill money, ranging P1,000 to P 850,000, to relatives and friends. He also gambled daily, womanized, and went on regular drinking sprees.” (Source: Manila Bulletin ) He estimated that he squandered a minimum of P100,000 almost every day. He also lent money even to people he did not really know. “I just gave them and told them not to pay me back.” (Ibid) His bank had to issue him a special card so he can withdraw huge amounts of money quickly from the automated teller m
Read more

“Don’t drink the Kool-Aid!”

Image
Forty years ago, this expression became known as a description of blind obedience.   Source: Los Angeles Times On November 18, 1978, members of Peoples Temple, a cult group in Guyana, drank Kool-Aid drink laced with cyanide to commit a mass suicide “at the behest of their charismatic but paranoid leader, Jim Jones”. [1] According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica , “The death toll exceeded 900, including some 300 age 17 and under, making the incident one of the largest mass deaths in American history. ”  [2]  What made those people submit to such atrocity? According to Stella Morabito, a senior contributor to The Federalist online magazine, Peoples Temple is “Exhibit A… [of]  the dangers of the cult mindset or how vulnerable all people are to cult tactics.”  [3] She pointed out that, Coercive persuasion has immense power to shape and twist the human mind.  …[Jones’] utopian preaching of a humane world in which all lived happily in harmony resonated with the
Read more