The Lesson Of The Fig Tree
“And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, ‘Let no fruit grow on you ever again.’ Immediately the fig tree withered away.” Matthew 21:19
God cannot use something that is not producing fruit. In Matthew 21, Jesus walked up on a fig tree. The tree was not producing fruit and so He cursed the tree. Later when the disciples came across it again they noticed that the tree had withered. Have you ever wondered why this little passage was put in the Bible? God was trying to convey how important it is for every believer to produce fruit in his or her life. An unfruitful life will never please God.
God places seeds of His character inside each of us and when they are poured out they will produce fruit. So what fruit are you supposed to be bearing? Galatians 5 tells us all about the fruits of the spirit that should be evident in the life of a believer. First there’s love. If you will start pouring out love, God will cause people to love and surround you. Joy is also a seed. If you are beat down and broken, you don’t need more strength. You need more joy! The Bible says,“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Get more joy and it will infuse you with strength to make it through the hard times. The seed of joy is on the inside. Even if nothing changes on the outside, you can choose to be a happy person.
God will also multiply the fruit of peace to those who choose to be a peacemaker. When you decide not to stir up strife and instead put more value on your relationships than being right, you will see a blessing of peace in your life. Then there is the fruit of patience and long-suffering. That means you keep coming to church and declaring that God is good even when your circumstances are less than ideal. Kindness is another seed that you have to pour out. Be kind to people even if they are rude to you.
Goodness is another fruit of the spirit that should be seen in your life. Being helpful to a person in need may bless them more than you know. You should be good to people. Then there’s faithfulness. God notices people who are at church every Sunday and who stand by His word no matter what environment they are in. He will bless the faithful ones. Gentleness is a fruit that also pleases Him. You may not feel like it is in your nature to be gentle but that may mean that your flesh is in control. When the Spirit is in control, you remain calm in hard situations. Lastly, self control is one of the most important fruits for a Christian to yield. Proverbs 16:32 says, “It is better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.”
The seeds of the fruit of God’s Spirit are already inside of you. You just have to be faithful to pour them out.
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