Fruit

We have a couple of fig trees that we inherited when we purchased our property. Over the years it has produced various quantities of fruit, some years very little, other years, nothing has been produced at all.

This year however, despite the drought it has produced a bumper crop. As I collected fruit last night, I became aware that not all the fruit was the same. Some figs looked fat and ripe but were in fact half eaten by birds; I just couldn’t see the holes from where I was standing and some of the figs we not ripe. Other figs were ripe but once I got them to the kitchen they were destroyed inside by ants and mould. Yes, there were figs that were healthy and appropriate to use for cooking.

This tree also reminds me of the people in our lives though. We all live in the same world with its privileges, challenges and problems. Some people are destroyed, others refuse to learn, some look as if they are doing ok but on the inside they are a mess and yes there are some that grow and mature through the challenges that life throws at them.

As I think about my fig tree, the first bible story that comes to mind is the one where Jesus curses the fig tree (Mark 11:12-14) because it hadn’t produced fruit. I must admit that when there hasn’t been fruit produced I have wondered if the trees should be removed. They have been left because removing them is a job that is way too big for me but also just as trees they work as features.

Because of the evil that is in our world, people come out of life differently but remember He loves us and is willing to help us be good fruit.