On Fruit And Fig Trees

On Fig Trees

I’m not sure I ever articulated what I think disappoints God the most about what people do. But a few days ago, I heard someone say that not doing something with what God gave you makes Him angry. That struck me because although I know about the story of the talents and other instances where God admonishes someone who hasn’t made something with what they had, I didn’t think “angry.” Then yesterday I read about how Jesus cursed the fig tree. I know that story too, but this time it hit different. Jesus CURSED the fig tree for not doing what it was created to do – produce fruit for when God wanted to use it.

Not My Timetable

Thinking about the gifts God’s given me and how to use them for His glory is something that preoccupies my time. But I hadn’t really fleshed out how it’s His timetable, not my timetable, that matters. God isn’t waiting patiently for me to get around to doing something with His blessings. He provided them to be utilized for His glory immediately. “Slowbedience is disobedience” is something I used to tell my kids when they were small. Some things have a clock attached and it’s made me reflect.

Planting At The Right Time

One thing I’ve learned since I took up gardening is that planting at the right time is critical for producing fruits & vegetables before the frost. If you wait too long to start your planting – you won’t have what you need during the peak growing season – so timing matters. It only makes sense that God would give us gifts that have a time stamp as well. We might not know what fruit is supposed to come from using our gifts – but that shouldn’t keep us from faithfully cultivating them. What good is having a fig tree if it has no fruit when you’re hungry?

On Fruit

The passage I was reading was Matthew 21. Jesus starts off fulfilling the prophecies so that He can arrive on time in the right way. He then moves onto the temple to honor His Father, preach, and heal. It’s after this that Jesus sees and curses the fig tree along the road. He doesn’t just curse it, though – He uses it as a way to teach the disciples that with fearless faith, they could move mountains. Praying with faith would give them unimaginable power. After the Pharisees question Jesus’ authority, he follows that with the parables about the two sons and the tenants. The point of both is to appreciate and understand the gift God has given and to follow it up with action. This single chapter addresses fruits in five or six different ways.

The Takeaway

The big takeaway for me in this reading was that it’s easy for me to get caught up in my head. I fret and plan, and sometimes, that makes me slow to act. When I pray, I need to move. There’s no sense in leaning on a shovel and praying for a hole. I need to work with what I have to make things happen. Christ calls us to bear fruit. It is not enough to grow ourselves if we aren’t producing fruit He can use!

God will move – I just need to be faithful to use what He’s given me so it’s ready for Him to make something beautiful with it.

Be Blessed! Keep Thriving and Make Something Beautiful Today!

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