“The next morning… Jesus was hungry.” (Mark 11:12) He noticed a fig tree and went to see if it had any fruit, but all he found were barren branches. It’s like going to the fridge in the morning only to find empty shelves. No milk or bread or eggs. We’re left hungry and disappointed.
Every day, we are hungry in more ways than one. We know people that could fill us up. We go to see if they have any fruit, but often enough all we find are branches and leaves. They look like good trees, but they have nothing good to eat.
Christians are filled with the Spirit of God. We could be and should be overflowing with peace, joy, and love. But for whatever reason, some are not. Some are out of season. Some broken. And they leave us empty and disappointed.
Where we thought we’d find peace there’s anxiety. Where we thought we’d find joy there’s discontentment. Where we thought we’d find love there are conditions. Jesus understands our disappointment. It was his own experience.
Abraham was called to be the father of many nations, but what if he never believed? Einstein obviously had the potential to develop the theory of relativity, but what if he never studied? To fall short of our call is a tragedy. I don’t want to be the barren fig tree. I want Jesus to bless me.
When people come to me empty, I want to fill them up with God’s love. When people come to me worried, I want to calm them with his peace. When Jesus comes to me in the least of these, I want to have more than leaves. I want more than to look like a good tree, but to bear fruit to eat. To give abundantly.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing… Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:1; 4)
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