Matthew 21:18-22
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
18 Early in the morning, as
he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 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.
20 When the disciples saw
this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, 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. 22 If you believe, you will
receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Have you ever been so hungry that
you got grumpy? I have always thought
that Jesus was a little harsh with this poor fig tree. Just because it didn’t have any fruit, was
that a good reason to make it wither?
Yet, I know Jesus is perfect so He must have had a reason for doing
this. This morning as I read this
scripture I asked the Lord to show me what this meant because it has never made
sense to me. Then the scripture
regarding other fruit came to mind, the vine and the branches. So let’s look at another scripture regarding
fruit and see if we can tie the two together.
John 15:1-8
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no
fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more
fruitful.3 You
are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by
itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you
remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a
man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can
do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like
a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit,
showing yourselves to be my disciples.
It is pretty clear in this passage that it is not
about the fruit that we eat that Jesus is concerned about. When I put these two passages of scripture
together I see how the Father remedies the fruitless life. He will cut off the branch from us that will
not produce fruit so that more fruit can be produced from the other branches.
When there is no fruit evident at all, as in the case of the fig tree, it is thrown
away.
The fig tree represents to me someone who has been
given numerous opportunities to come to the Father. They have heard the Word but choose to not
abide by the Word and choose to not receive the Word as the true Word of Life. They choose the worldly ways, they may act
religious, even give faithfully to the church and may even attend church but
Christ does not dwell within them. They
ask and do not receive because they do not abide in Christ. Jesus went up to the fig tree and commanded
it to wither, it had no place in His kingdom.
You may be thinking, that is a little harsh. You may even be thinking that if you are
giving to the church and attending regularly that you are doing the will of the
Father. Yet, if you have not received
His salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, you are not doing His will.
In the scriptures, Saul, King of Israel, thought he
could take matters into his own hands.
He was told by God, through Samuel to attack the Amalekites and destroy
everything (I Samuel 15:3) but Saul did not do what He was instructed to do and
He kept the king and some of the best livestock for a burnt offering to
God. The response to this action can be
found in I Samuel 15: 22.
22 But
Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.
God does
not want our sacrifices, He wants to abide in us, He wants His Word to abide in
us. If we listen to Him, do as He ask,
He will take action through us. But, if
we try, like Saul to do it all in our own power, we will soon find out that He
doesn’t and never did abide in us. The
evidence is clear that Saul never really took claim of God, he called Him, Saul’s
God. He begged Saul to forgive him, he
didn’t beg the Lord, he called upon the name of Saul.
Who are
you serving today, is it yourself? Is it
a church or a religious organization? Do
you see a big mountain in front of you and try to figure out how you can remove
it? Do you ask things of Him in order to
further your kingdom, to find favor with man?
Or, do you serve a God that is bigger than anything you could ever
imagine? Do you receive His Word and
follow His commands because He dwells within you? Do you ask in order to
further His Kingdom, not yours? Do you
bear fruit and commune with those who are also bearing fruit? Has he pruned you, cutting part of you away
from the vine in order that may produce more fruit? If you are serving anything other than the
living God, then you will be cut away just as Saul was. If you are serving the living God, nothing
will separate you from Him. You can ask and
receive because you are asking the will of the Father, not of man.
If a part
of you needs pruning, it will probably be painful but you will grow through
it. You will bear more fruit because of
the pruning than if you had not gone through it, so, be joyful. I have felt the pruning of the Lord but I
praise Him that I have not been cut off from Him. There is still a part of me that He is
working on to grow and be more like Him.
I trust that as you seek Him, you will find Him and serve Him with all
your heart.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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