Not Mere Leaves
A couple of years ago I planted squash in my garden. The squash plant itself grew and majored into a large plant with nice deep greenery. The plants appeared to be healthy and ready to produce a great number of squash. Unfortunately, though the leaves seemed perfect and beautiful, the plants would not produce fruit. As a result, the plants existed for no purpose other than to set off an external appearance.
In Mark 11:12-14, we find that Jesus was hungry and seeking to eat. At a distance, Jesus noticed a fig tree. As Jesus approached he noticed that the tree had leaves but did not have fruit. As a result, Jesus curses the fig tree even though it was out of season.It must be noted that the fig tree symbolizes the religious life of Judaism that appeared to be seeking holiness but was genuinely without fruit. It is the same question that must be asked of each individual professing Christ today. Are we masquerading as a believer by our appearance or are we a genuine believer who is producing fruit?
Believers are called to be fruit producers. James 2:26 reminds us that a faith that does not have works is a dead faith. In the life of the believer, the evidence of the presence of Christ is the fruit that is produced. It is the acknowledgement of the existence of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the obedience of following Christ. This does not mean that one is redeemed through works, but rather the fruitful works of the believer point to his or her faith.
On the flip side, the passage tells us that those who appear to be alive and are not producing fruit face the curse of God. These individuals are the one who are spoken of that will declare all they have done for Jesus and then be told to depart because they never knew Jesus (Matthew 7:23). For Israel, they were walking through tradition and religion while rejecting Jesus. Likewise, without caution we can practice tradition and religion instead of following Christ.
Just like the fig tree, the squash plant in my garden had to be removed. It was not producing fruit and was not accomplishing the task it had been created for. Likewise, the Lord has created you to be in a relationship with Him, but the sin in life has caused a separation. The Lord loved you and I so much that He sent Jesus as the needed sacrifice. Though Jesus faced death, He also arose victoriously and offered reconciliation to God through faith in Him. This is a life of following and living for Jesus. So today, do you know Jesus? Are you producing fruit? Or are you simply leaves appearing to believe, but are not authentically following Jesus and are fruitless?
