Fruit

It’s yet another morning, and I’m once again running late to work. I hop in the Jeep, begin backing down the driveway, and I look toward my neighbors’ backyard. They’re both outside. She’s hanging laundry on the line. Oh, look – the fig tree is in bloom. Mmm, fig preserves… Wait – what’s that? There’s a HUGE snake in the fig tree! That has got to be the biggest snake I’ve ever seen. The Crocodile Hunter doesn’t even mess with snakes this big, and he’ll pick up anything. My neighbor is standing six feet from the tree! (Insert hyperventilation here.)

I’m frozen in fear and panic, although I know there is no way the snake can get to me. I should be worried about my neighbor, but I can’t figure out what to do. Do I roll down the window and scream? Do I honk the horn? Do I run over? I hate snakes. I can’t run over there. I’m not even fond of rolling down the window, for the same reason. Do I honk the horn…really? It seems so cowardly…

All this happens in about ten seconds. On the eleventh second, it dawns on me: that is not a real snake. It’s a rubber snake, put there to scare off birds. I don’t know if it works, but rest assured, you’ll never catch me over there picking figs. Roughly two hours later, my heart rate is back to normal, but I still feel dumb.

Every time I think about this story, I wonder what it is about fig trees. Are they finicky plants? When Jesus found the fig tree in Matthew 21, He was hungry. When He saw that the fig tree had no fruit, He cursed the tree. Verse 19 says that the fig tree withered away immediately. As Christians, we are commanded to bear fruit (John 15:1-8, Romans 7:4). We should also exhibit the qualities found in Galatians 5:22-23 – the fruit of the Spirit. Our fruit can even determine whether we are true Christians (Matthew 7:16). Are we fruitless like the fig tree? How are we defending ourselves from the attacks of Satan, who would steal our fruit?