This week at Bible Study Fellowship, we studied Matthew 21:18-22 where Jesus cursed the barren fig tree and it dried up and died. Happily, my little fig tree has leafed out after the winter and already produced one fig! As I studied these verses, I could not believe that Jesus had a tantrum and cursed the tree because he was hungry and there was no fruit on it. No, he had another lesson for his disciples. I did some research (that involved hunting the house over for my notes from Ministries of New Life on the subject of the Fig Tree. (Naturally - no, UN-naturally, the next morning my Bible opened to the notes I had searched for the evening before.) I found that the leafy but unfruitful fig tree represented the religious leaders who were all show and no fruit. Ouch!
How many times do we go through the motions of being religious? We get all dressed up and go to church on Sunday. We sing (or not), listen (or not) to the pastor and then walk away empty, without any fruit to show for our efforts. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy about it in his second letter, chapter 3 beginning with verse 2: "For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!"
Jesus' disciples were amazed that the tree withered so quickly and Jesus told them, "Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you tell this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. And if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
At some time or another all of us have some mountains that need moving. Our family certainly has and I am so thankful for praying family and friends who have faith and do not doubt. My friends and family were praying last fall when I was supposed to have an extremely serious back surgery. They were very concerned and even prayed "doors would close if mom (Karla) was not to have the surgery." Just as I was being prepped for surgery, my doctor phoned the nurses and called it off. Turned out, he had "just" discovered my recent dexa scan that revealed I have osteoporosis. He told me that if he had gone through with the surgery, it would have been life threatening. Talk about moving a mountain! When is a surgery stopped just minutes before it is supposed to begin?
I'm sure you are like me. We don't want to have a form of godliness but deny its power. We don't want to be all show and no fruit. We want to have faith that moves mountains!
"So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ." Romans 10:17
Open our ears, Lord. Please open our ears!
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