On Bearing Fruit . . .

 Wisdom is know by her children. Another way of saying that is she is know by her fruit. What we reap is evidence of what we've sown. Everything planted underground, which is that what we put in secret and cover and water, will sprout. If one is, in secret, a sinner, it will grow into greater sin. If one is righteous in secret, it likewise will grow into greater righteousness. This is the nature of the supernatural; it is always a seed that will grow. This is why Jesus constantly refers to the Spiritual as having to do with fields, vineyards, crops, seeds, soil, etc. It's because it must be watered, must be kept, must be weeded, must be guarded. All things, we are given accountability to.

 But when we ourselves become the proverbial fig tree . . . What must we do?

 Bear fruit.

 Now, i'm not talking about some simple thing we can manage of our own accord; "Random Acts of Kindness," anyone can do. Not to say that specific gesture is without credence, but it's hardly a fruit of the Spirit when the world is just as capable as us. That could be, with the correct motive (glory given to God), a fruit of the Spirit, if we are led to it. But that's not what separates Christians from the world.

 Anyone can love those who are pleasant and lovely, which is why Jesus told us specifically to love our enemies. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves, and our neighbor is anyone put in our path, not merely the person of close residence. Neighbors are often our enemies, and enemies are often our neighbors, because those who wish us harm are oftentimes those who we are or have associated with.

 Do you know what it means to love an enemy? Do you know what it feels like to shake hands and to hug someone whom you know to be devising against you? Do you know what it's like to genuinely hope for their well-being?
 It's probably pretty difficult. In fact, i'd even dare say it's impossible for the flesh to accomplish some such feats.

 In 2006, in Pennsylvania, an armed man entered an Amish schoolroom of girls ranging from 6-13 years old with the intention of molestation. He killed five of them, and shot more. This would seem an unforgivable act. But there are those who are entirely unworldly, who are no more of this world than Christ is, who are able to attend the funeral of the perpetrator, look his family in the eyes and embrace them, and even contribute to his family's well-being. They forgave something i (and most others) could never dream of forgiving.

 Mark 11 tells us of Jesus being hungry and seeing a fig tree in leaf, though out of season for figs. Regardless, He approached it and found none on it, so He cursed it. The next morning, He and His disciples were passing back by and saw that it had died completely to its roots. It concludes with a message about faith, and He says, "whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." (v. 25)

 There are some interesting details about that little occurrence. For one, it was out of season for figs. Despite that, Jesus still cursed it. Another thing is He would've known before approaching it that it had no figs, not just because it was out of season but also because He is Christ--He knows things.

 Christ doesn't want us to produce only when we're in season, only when we're strong in faith or ready to take on a mission. He wants us producing now. At His approach. And the sad thing is, that tree reflects so many Christians. It's green. Looks healthy. It's in leaf. But it has no fruit.
 A quote i often sarcastically use is, "We're all about appearances here." That's exactly how so many Christians these days are, though; as long as we look Christian, as long as we give the appearance, we're okay. But no, this is fruitlessness!

 We don't even produce fruit in season (when things are going well), let alone out of season (we curse the sky when it falls--praise God for holding it up as long as He has!).

 If we're patient and loving and gentle and faithful (and the rest of the list from Galatians 5:22-23) when we have a roof over our heads, financial and emotional and physical security, and when we're healthy and have a computer to blog on, that we're doing pretty good at living by the Spirit and bearing good fruit.
 Take it all away; no water, no heat, no shelter, sleeping on the ground in the rain, eating the refuse of others, what do we have? Joy? Peace? This is the out-of-season that God expects us to bear fruit in. This is His approach. And if we can't offer such fruits as He asks for when we have nothing else, when we just have Him before us and asking us to be patient and self-controlled, we will be cursed and will wither to the roots, fit and ready to be thrown into the fire.

 It's not enough to simply be Christian. We have to be like Christ. It was not yet His "season," and even still He turned water to wine--the best wine at that.

 We can't settle for loving those that love us, but no less than compassionate for those that harm us. While we are still enemies, we must be reconciled to others that wish ill against us. This is bearing fruit out of season. Any fig tree can produce in season, but it takes one living for Christ to produce fruit out of season. Any worldly person can love those that love them, but it takes a Christian to truly and selflessly lay down their life for someone that hates them. And this is what Christ demands of us.

 Disclaimer: i am by no means perfect. I could not, presently, do as i've been writing. Forgiving a minor offense is simple enough. Love always trusts, though, and i'm one of the most untrusting people there is. I have witnessed too many hypocrites (of which i am the chief)--i don't want to see a perfect person, i just want to see people genuinely trying. And that's where the problem lies; i have too long been around too many churched people outside of Christian gatherings to trust but the fewest of few, because "nobody's perfect," so they refuse to even try to be Christian outside of the church walls.

 Tallying it up, there are literally six people outside of immediate family that have my legitimate trust. And i've learned that people are people; my faith does not rest in their faith. To see any of these fall, i've learned to callous myself in this way, would not make me falter.

It's Absurdly Logical

Mark 11:12-13, Jesus curses a fig tree that had no figs.

And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

The fig tree (and it points out that figs were out of season) didn't do anything, one might think.  But with a closer examination, we see that is precisely the reason it was cursed.
The fig tree had no fruit on it, and Jesus was hungry, so He cursed it. This smacks of being a tantrum, but it's not. It's asking the fig tree to go against its very nature, which denotes asking the absurd.
But maybe Jesus' request was absurd. ("absurd: [of an idea or suggestion] wildly unreasonable, illogical")
Maybe His very way is absurd. In this life, it certainly is absurdity, because it's not of worldly nature.

He was demanding of the tree, in essence, "Go against your nature, and do as I wish in the moment I call on you, or else perish."
He couldn't seriously expect a fig tree to listen to Him, though, could He?
Get this; "As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. And Peter remembered and said to him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.'" (Mark 11:20-21)
The fig tree withered because He told it to. It did alter its nature to do as He commanded. But He didn't command it to bear fruit, so one would be led to think it was still unreasonable to expect it to have fruit on it out of season.
But we're not talking about just a man here, we're talking about the Son of God. The Word made flesh, the Way, the Truth, the Life--get that? The Life. That's exactly why He could expect it. Because His very presence blesses. He makes the tree fruitful. He designed the nature of the tree, He could expect it to produce any time of year He desires. But this tree rebelled, in a sense. Instead of saying "Yield fruit!" and it happen, He said “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

This tree is much like people. He expects us to be fruitful and to multiply. This was God's first command to mankind. It wasn't a new command that, at Christ's approach, life should be teeming, even amongst the trees. Nature should be conforming to His every step. Mankind should be conforming to His approach instead of conforming to the world.
He could say "Yield fruit!" to every person on the day of judgment, when we meet Him face-to-face, and it happen. Even if it's not in our time to be productive, we should be yielding fruit for we know He is coming. Instead of saying that, though, He is going to say to many, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again," because they have lived of a nature of this world instead of a nature of the Spirit.
After all, living by the Spirit produces a fruitful life (Galatians 5: . . . I think 20-something). Life of the flesh does not produce any fruit.
He expects us, as with the fig tree, to produce fruit because we are near Him. Many don't, and will subsequently be cursed.

The reason i say the essence of His expectation of the tree involves the moment that Christ calls upon the tree is because of two of the three men at the end of Luke 9; one wanted to bury his father, another wanted to say goodbye to his family. Jesus was there at that moment. The moment He calls upon us, we should not have anything in our way too pressing as to not be able to drop, nothing else should be as important as following Christ. We should always be ready to give up all else and follow Him, because we don't know the moment that He'll call us.

But still arisen is the issue of not being the time for it to produce figs . . . "For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." (1 Thessalonians 5:2)
We know He's on His way. We should, therefore, regardless of our earthly nature, be prepared, because we don't know the day in which He will arrive, only that He is on His way.

Enduring Faith

Something my pastor said earlier this evening that has apparently taken root in my heart already.
He mentioned that John had faith that couldn't be shaken by things of this world, not even death, and said his prayer is that those in the congregation he leads have a faith like that; faith that makes them stand like a green tree in a desert, as that draws attention and people want to be by it and want whatever it is that causes the tree to remain healthy.

But this got me thinking; most trees in deserts are mirages.
The tree doesn't know it's fake, because it's just a trick our mind plays on us.
In thinking about this, i realized that the same applies to his idea of Christians being healthy trees in the desert. A lot of us perceive others to be strong and healthy in their spiritual work, but the abundance and strength of the tree is merely a mirage we convince ourselves of. Many of those who appear to have a closeness to God don't have it in all actuality. It takes proximity to realize this. Upon closer examination of the lives of the "healthy," we see that their spiritual prosperity is an illusion.
And i'm not saying i'm holy or righteous or closer to God than anyone else. I may simply be the tree that doesn't realize i'm unhealthy. Most of us who think we have a flourishing spiritual life, when it all comes down, don't. If it takes harsh criticism of me, so be it. Examine me so that you can see where i'm real and where i'm fake, then point it out to me.
I have faith that my faith would endure any storm life can throw at me, but so does everyone who claims dependence on God . . . How many actually do?
Thousands came to hear Jesus preach when He fed them by means of a miracle. The next day, when there were no miracles performed, the people were not fed, they faced a very short spiritual drought, they faltered and turned away. They wanted God now, without regard to tomorrow. They required constant nourishment of their spirit to be healthy. I want to be one of the few in that crowd who were satisfied with what He's already given me, so that i can endure tomorrow.

I want to be real.
I want a faith that endures.
I want to be close to God.
I want to love God with an intimacy that transcends limits of mortality.
I want to be tested.
I want to need Him. I need to need Him.

I don't want to be a mirage.

I want to be a tree with a taproot, not one of these Texas oaks with roots that sprawl about the surface. I want one root, one source, one truth, one faith, one hope, one supply, and i want it to run deeper than can be measured, down to the water that never dries up.
I want the enduring, timeless, living water.