In Matthew’s gospel chapter 21 we read of Jesus cursing the fig tree. Hungry for something to eat when He walked close to it He discovered it only had leaves, but no fruit.
In that age the Fig tree was referred to by the Jews as the ‘Hypocrite’ tree for this reason. From a distance it looked to be full of fruit with all the leaves, but when you got right up to it there was no fruit. It hides its fruit under the leaves and it’s only when you get close do you know if it has fruit.
I remember years ago going to watch a football match a friend was playing in. During the game a player got injured and this guy ran onto the pitch with the biggest first aid case I’d even seen. One of the team members shouted to him, ‘what are you bring that on for? sure there’s nothing in it.’ (It did look the part though 🙂
We can so easily give an impression.
When I read this I think of my life. Am I the kind of person who gives appearance of something good, living a fruitful life, or do my leaves cover over something else?
The best gift we can give anybody is a fruitful life, the real us. Of course we’re certainly not perfect, God knows that and so do those closest to us.
Our lives can revolve around church, but if we have no fruit we are not ‘living’ our faith.
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