‘He found nothing but leaves on it.’ Matthew 21:19
The Bible
says: ‘As He was coming back to the city, He was hungry. And as He saw one
single leafy fig tree above the roadside, He went to it but He found nothing
but leaves on it [seeing that in the fig tree the fruit appears at the same
time as the leaves]. And He said to it, “Never again shall fruit grow on you!”
And the fig tree withered up at once’ (vv. 18-19 AMP Classic Edition).
Perhaps
you’re thinking that’s pretty harsh treatment. After all, it wasn’t the tree’s
fault that it didn’t have any figs. So why did Jesus curse it? You’ll find the
answer in these words: ‘Seeing that in the fig tree the fruit appears at the
same time as the leaves.’ When Jesus saw leaves on the tree, He’d a right to
expect fruit. And when there was none, He cursed it for being a phony while
giving off the impression that it was the real thing.
There’s an
important lesson here for each of us. Be careful that you don’t display an
impressive array of leaves without actually bearing fruit. It takes more than a
bumper sticker on your car, a Jesus pin in your lapel, and a big Bible under
your arm to influence and win others to Christ. The Bible says, ‘When the Holy
Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’
(Galatians 5:22-23 TLB). That’s the kind of fruit people can see, touch, taste,
and enjoy. And it’s the kind God wants to see manifested in your life today.
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