A Fig Tree....

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

“‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”  (Luke 13:1-8)

Listen to another story about Jesus actually coming across a fig tree that did not bear fruit:

“Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.  Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  Matthew 21:17-22

The man in this parable, the owner of the vineyard, is obviously God. Hear this: He is the owner of this earth, all things that breath and move and our very souls——-and He expects FRUIT!  Regardless of where He plants us—-whether we like it or not!

He paid for the tree, He planted it, He financed the care of that tree and got nothing in return!  “Cut it down and plant a tree there that will produce fruit”.  After He said this He must have looked at the crowd with eyes that were a bit haunting and warned them,   “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish”.  Jesus used this parable to drive the point home in a very existential way: You are here to produce fruit or you will be replaced.  The message  is simple and unchanging: God looks for good fruit in our lives

We’re all creatures of God—-and we are His highest creation.   If we choose, we re able to become more than just creatures, that is, His adopted sons and daughters!  But He is examining, during our lives here, this very day, the quality and quantity of fruit we bear—-just like a man that planted an orchard of fruit trees.

The fruit we grow, or bear, shows what kind of person we really are. An apple tree will bring forth apples, not watermelons. If our lives have really been touched and transformed by Jesus Christ, it will show in the fruit we bear, even if it takes a while for the fruit to come forth.  Are you bearing fruit—- or are you barren?  We should think about it—-and it might be a cause some of us pause. Sometime we might think that being good, or going to church, or giving tithes, or praising God somehow keeps God alive—-or gives Him a good reason to keep on blessing us—as if He could not carry on were it not for our indulgent kindness and acts of charity  to Him!

Good grief, He needs nothing (Psalm 53) and He will be no less God and no less secure, complete or “God” if we do nothing the entire time we live on this earth.  Bearing fruit, which is producing the actions, emotional responses and decisions, that are in keeping with the kind of “tree” He intended us to be, merely proves we ARE a part of God and His Kingdom work. Not producing fruit just shows that we don’t know anything about spiritual horticulture!

So what fruit is the man in the parable is looking for?  The same Jesus did when He came to a fig tree in Jerusalem,  Something edible and pleasing to the senses of smell, taste and appearance.  Think about your own life—are your actions, thoughts, responses, the way you care for your very body pleasing to Him?  Is the way you treat others a sweet aroma to Him?  Are the things you meditate upon and dream about about tasteful for your Creator and Heavenly Father?

Paul says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  But being fruitful is more than that.  A fig tree is supposed to produce figs.The farmer wanted the fig for one of two purposes—-to eat or to use the seeds to plant more fig trees. God is patient with us  (“look, for three years I have come seeking fruit”), but we’re supposed to be about the task of brining to God something that delights Him and something that He can use to make an even grander garden. Again, God’s patient and is even willing to give us a second chance, but there’s going to be a reckoning one day….

Our “fruitful” purpose is two-fold, as sons and daughters of God: Repent (turn away) from those things that are contrary to our “being” as children of God,  and to turn to  those things that are pleasing to Him and produce fruit!

Once we come to God, He’s not going to leave us alone until we start bearing fruit!   He will prune us, and cut things away until we start producing, or we will be a barren tree that is worthless. He will offer special attention and care — and He is gentle and kind, but beware, of assuming that He’s not paying attention or watching—-He is.There are consequences for ignoring God and His call to repentance and bearing fruit—the two go together—-and pruning always hurts a little.

This story is significant because it tells us about who Jesus is….as well as what He wants His followers to become.  Are you a person that is producing something for God’s Kingdom, or simply taking up space and soaking up water and sunshine?  Is your life marked by the power of faith and prayer, or just existing and going on from day to day living like most non-believers live. Does your like attract attention because of the sweet odor of your humility, gentleness, and kindness?  Is what you’re bearing for God’s Kingdom give evidence that you are full of His Holy Spirit, or have you become a  discouragement to those looking for evidence that Jesus Christ is all that He claimed to be?

…..which is it in my life and your life?

Important to note that later Jesus cursed a tree to make a point:

1. Jesus was hungry.  He was fully human and fully God—He got tired, hungry and thirsty.  He went to the tree and evidently told the disciples He needed something to eat.

2. He was expecting fruit.  Now, He was not ignorant of the season and He knew that it was not the time that fig trees produce figs… but Jesus was making a bigger point: The nation of Israel was also not producing the fruit God expected,  and would soon it whither because of it.  Within a few years the Romans would cut down the nation of Israel and tear the temple apart and for 2000 years the nation would whither.

Jesus was, I think, suggesting the same accounting from any one that bears the name “Christian, Catholic or Evangelical”. We’re not supposed to be some sort fat babies gulping down more and more milk or in need of getting our diapers changed, were supposed to be fruit bearers—fishers of men—-soldiers for the cause of Christ!   Are you bearing fruit?….have you become the new creature Jesus talked about?   Have you received that living water from Jesus that produces an eternal spring of life within you—-are you living as a new fig tree—-one that supernaturally bears fruit year round? He came to graft you and me into the tree of eternal life and fruit—-Himself.  No fruit tree bears fruit year round—-it would take a miracle.  You can’t bear fruit all the time on your own effort or by your own nature—-it takes the intervention of Christ’s grafting to allow you to be fruit all the time.

Again, when Jesus approached th tree it was not the season for figs, but He was making the message clear: the time to bear fruit is the time the Master comes looking for it. Beware of telling Him you’re not ready, or you have a headache, or it’s not the right time for you to be about His work, or you need some more experience before you can bear fruit or some more fertilizer, or you’re doing something more important.  The time to bear fruit is the time the master comes calling—and He’s not interested in our excuses or complaints. Are you  bearing fruit or are you soaking up the soil, water and nutrients to go about your own exploits and pursuits?  Who will judge you if you don’t produce fruit?  This is what Jesus said, “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.”  John 5:25, NIV

He spoke to the tree——one of His Father’s creations—-and He cursed the tree.  Is Jesus unreasonable? Does He have a “mean-streak” down His back?  Of course not—-He humbled Himself and left the glory of heaven to become a baby for us, lived His life like a beggar, and was tortured to death for us. But He made a bold statement: Do something with the redeemed, restored life He’s given you!

Bear good fruit!

How?

1. Be in good soil.  If you’re living in a toxic environment listening, hearing and sucking in garbage you’re not going to make good fruit—-it will be anemic and it will stink!

2. Be connected to the source of the proper nutrients. We’ve got to be grafted into Him. He is the source of our ability to bear fruit—-not the internet or sports or our careers or even our works of charity—-HE is the vine—we’re the branches.

3. Don’t give up or run away when He prunes you! It’s an essential part of gardening, and healthy fruit trees. The cutting away of dead branches keeps the vine or the tree healthy and causes us to produce MORE fruit!

4. We can be certain He won’t abandon us or cut us off, but we must also live our lives in an expectation that He might come calling at any moment——-and, in fact, He does—to inspect our fruit.

The fruits or proof that you are in good soil, connected and grafted to Jesus Christ and allowing Him to routinely prune you are:

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, & Self-Control.  Does He see these in your life?…………do others in your family and at work see these fruit?