Ever go through one of those seasons in life where there just don’t seem to be enough hours in the day, enough days in the week? That’s been the story of my life for the past few weeks….hence little blogging. But here I am, ready to share something God has been speaking to me, something He has been helping me to see through His eyes.
Recently I read this passage of scripture, the one about Jesus and the disciples and the fig tree. Mark, in writing about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, shares this account: “And Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve. Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, ‘Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.’ And His disciples heard it…..Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away’” (Mark 11: 11-14 and 20-21).
I don’t know about you, but this passage of scripture has always confused me. To be honest, I have always felt kind of bad for the fig tree. I mean seriously, what had it done to deserve that end, to be “dried up from the roots”? It’s not like it was without figs when it should have had them- scripture clearly says it was not the season for figs. And Jesus clearly knew it was not the season for figs. So what’s really going on here? Haha…good question! 😂
So there I was, wrestling with this same passage of scripture once again, feeling sorry for the fig tree for the umpteenth time, all while asking God to show me what He wanted me to see. And suddenly, that whole passage took on new life, right before my eyes. And I truly mean SUDDENLY. Because, suddenly, this verse floated through my mind: “Be ready in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2). Be ready for what?? To “preach the word!” Be ready for what? To “convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). These are Paul’s words to the young pastor Timothy…and what amazing words they are! Be ready in season and out! Or, to paraphrase: Don’t be like the fig tree!
So let’s focus on Jesus’ interaction with the fig tree. As I mentioned before, it was not the season for figs. Clearly Jesus knew this, yet He still looked for fruit on the tree. Then, when He saw that there were no figs, He cursed the tree. As a result, that tree completely dried up from the roots by the very next day. Yikes! But, clearly there is a correlation between that fig tree and our lives. Over and over again, scripture compares men to trees and their actions to fruit. Specifically, Jesus says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit” (Luke 6:43). Jesus also says, “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Conversely, when we don’t bear fruit, like the fig tree in Jesus’ parable in Luke 13, or when we don’t bear good fruit, we are good for nothing but to be cut down and thrown into the fire (Luke 13:6-9; Matthew 7:19).
So then, the next question is, what fruit are we to bear? The Bible makes this pretty simple: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22). And even more than just bearing fruit, we are to be ready in season and out. In other words, we are to be ready to bear fruit ALWAYS. ALWAYS…as in AT ALL TIMES! Because Jesus is looking for us to bear fruit…in season and out….for Him and for His Kingdom and for His glory.
I have seen no greater example of this kind of “in season and out” fruitful lifestyle than my mother-in-law. Currently, my family is facing a health crisis. Through it all, my mother-in-law has demonstrated unwavering faith in the face of dire circumstances, preaching the word in season and out, declaring the word of the Lord unceasingly, from one floor of the hospital to the next, even though medical science does not align with that word. And people are listening. And maybe even more than hearing her words, people, even medical personnel, are seeing her fruit…they are seeing her love and her joy and her peace and her faithfulness. They are seeing the fruit of a repentant life wholly dedicated to her Savior, the lover of her soul. And I know that, regardless of the outcome of this crisis, the Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified through the faithfulness of one very special woman who is bearing much fruit, fruit that will, without a doubt, remain.
So, though I still feel like that poor fig tree got a bad deal, I can walk away from this scripture with some new insight for my own life. Jesus is looking for us to bear fruit, in season and out. Jesus is looking for me to bear fruit, in season and out. He is looking for me to bear fruit that remains. And, unfortunately, there are consequences for being found barren, for being without fruit, regardless of the season we find ourselves in. Conversely, though, there are infinite and eternal rewards for being found fruitful, both in this world and in the next…in every season….rewards that begin and end with Jesus saying this: “Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:23).
Let me join in prayer with Paul for you today: “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy” (Colossians 1:9-11). And if you have a moment, my family and I covet your prayers as we stand believing for health and healing today.