As I was raking leaves this week, I started thinking about how often the Bible references trees, roots and fruit in the context of believers. I thought about the fig tree Jesus cursed because it had no fruit.
“Seeing a fig tree beside the road, Jesus went to it, but there were no figs on the tree, only leaves. So, Jesus said to the tree, “You will never again have fruit.” The tree immediately dried up.” Matt. 21:19
The leaves made the tree look as though it should have fruit, but there was none.
“Watch out for false teachers. They come to you dressed as if they were sheep. On the inside they are hungry wolves. You will know them by their fruit. Do men pick grapes from thorns? Do men pick figs from thistles? It is true; every good tree has good fruit. Every bad tree has bad fruit. A good tree cannot have bad fruit. A bad tree cannot have good fruit. Every tree that does not have good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So, you will know them by their fruit.” Matthew 7:15-20
As Christians, we are to bear fruit. There can be seasons in our lives when we don’t appear to be growing, but underneath the surface, God is doing something.
As I raked, I was reminded that just as the leaves change colors and the wind blows them off the trees, so do the things in our lives that God is through with. There are times the Holy Spirit’s wind blows through our lives to make things that are now dead fall off. However, there can be some things we insist on hanging on to. Maybe it’s something that God used for a season and now wants us to release. Yet, we hang on to it; teaching Sunday School, working in the nursery, attending prayer meetings, whatever it is. We hang on because it is a good thing and God really used it in our lives and we think we’re to keep it.
Leaves make us LOOK healthy. Fruit tells the truth. But when fruit isn’t growing, God doesn’t necessarily throw us away – sometimes He gets to work on our roots. There are times in our lives when we need special attention to get the fruit growing again. Jesus told a parable regarding this:
“Then he used this illustration: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if he could find any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he told his gardener to cut it down. ‘I’ve waited three years and there hasn’t been a single fig!’ he said. ‘Why bother with it any longer? It’s taking up space we can use for something else.’
“‘Give it one more chance,’ the gardener answered. ‘Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. 9 If we get figs next year, fine; if not, I’ll cut it down.’” Luke 13:6-9
Sometimes it takes a little fertilizer to get the fruit growing again.
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