Where's your fruit?

I’ve never been much of a fruit guy. I would eat an occasional apple, some cantaloupe, pineapple, or a banana. I have never been guilty though of turning down a chip or two, but we can discuss the intricacies of junk food at a later date.

In Matthew 21, we find Jesus on the road with His disciples headed for Jerusalem. On so many occasions, I feel we Christians fail to keep in the forefront of our minds that while Jesus walked the earth He was both divine and human. He needed sleep…He (I’m sure) got splinters while working as a carpenter’s son…

(…and just to chase a squirrel here, I’ve always wondered if a bee had the guts to sting Him? If so, I want to meet that bee.)

(Baltimore Police Station...from 'The Wire')
Fell's Point - Baltimore, MD

In Vs. 19, we find Jesus walking toward Jerusalem and He was hungry. He comes upon a fig tree that had leaves on it, but no figs to eat. After seeing this Jesus said, “May you never bear fruit again!” It then immediately withered up.

In absorbing this passage, I’ve been forced to evaluate my own life. How many times has my life been so covered in leaves that others were just convinced that I was fulfilling my God given purpose? The problem was that the closer others got to me, the more they began to realize that there was no fruit.
I can parallel my life to this fig tree in so many ways. Had I known Jesus was going to be passing through my life on certain occasions desiring to use me for a specific purpose, I would have made sure that things were in order.

I watch in sadness today while many are covered in leaves but there is no visible fruit to be seen. It is all about the position I can obtain, or the payment I can receive for my services…it’s the look. What do others see?
Forget what I am hiding. Forget that I cannot afford to let others get to ‘close’ to me. I’ve simply got to keep God and everyone else at a distance … I’ve got leaves to protect.

(Inner Harbor)
Baltimore City, MD

You ever wonder why you don’t get anywhere? You ever wonder why your relationships, your spirituality, and your life never advance? Ever wonder why contentment evades you and judgment fills the void? Jesus just might have stopped ‘watering’ your soul.

Christ hungers for you to become all that He desires for you to be. He makes it a point to pass through our days…and He is always looking for the fruit.