“Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only;” Matthew 21:19a
For many years, the emphasis of “Fruit” has been a major observation from my daily Bible reading. This is one of those passages. We’re told in the previous verse, Jesus “was hungry”; we then have Today’s Verse. But there is more here than just a disappointed and hungry Savior. I realize that this Illustration is also about the Nation Israel and the end of the Old Covenant. But I would like to focus today just on the issue of “Fruit”!
In John 15, we have a comprehensive analysis on the topic. For brevity sake, here is the gist: “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away”, and, “they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned”. When you compare that with “he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit” I think you get the gravity of the situation. This is terribly Haunting!
So, each time I encounter a passage like this I ask myself “Where is my Fruit?” Fair question? I think so! Well, what Fruit are we talking about? Is that important? Again, I think so! Let’s start with Galatians 5:22; “the Fruit of the Spirit is Love”. I could spend another hour elaborating here, but I’ll just ask some simple questions: Do I Love God Supremely? Do I Love my wife as Christ loved the Church? Do I Love my husband as the Church submits to Christ? Do I Love my children and Nurture and Train them? Do I Love my Parents by honoring and obeying them? I could go on and on…but I won’t. Some Serious things to consider today. Oh God, we need More Grace!!!