New Beginnings

As Andrea said on my wall, when one door closes, another opens. I am holding onto my belief that God has a plan for me and that plan included getting me out to Colorado. So here I am, and I am awaiting His further instruction.

Going through a breakup on Easter weekend is kind of the perfect time. I may feel like the pain I'm going through is unbearable, but what Jesus went through when He was crucified is so much more than I could even imagine. And God's heart breaks for every single one of His children who strays from Him, how much does my hurt compare to that? Yes it's real, and those comparisons don't diminish it, but it gives me perspective. And it helps me keep my focus on Him, where it should be. God's love can fill my heart more than the love for any other person possibly could. And God is also using this to show me just how loved I am. The outpouring of love from friends old and new is really uplifting.

Speaking of Easter weekend, Fig Monday. I said I'd talk about it, and talk about it I shall. Pastor Gary (yes the pastor at my new church is also a Gary) started the service on Palm Sunday going through all the days of Holy Week and describing how they are celebrated across the globe. Every day but Monday and Tuesday. So what happened on Monday and Tuesday? Jesus cursed a fig tree.

Right?? Jesus cursed something? That doesn't sound like Him. The incident is described in  Mark 11:12-14 and continued in verses 20-26. Basically, Jesus is leaving Bethany on the day after Palm Sunday, when everyone had welcomed him and praised him crying "Hosanna" and waving palm leaves. He was hungry, and He saw a fig tree that was super duper leafy. Now, the thing about fig trees is that they generally start growing fruit before they start growing leaves. If you see a leafy fig tree, it's a safe assumption that it's gonna have some yummy figs. But, when Jesus went over to the tree, it had no fruit. Jesus said to the tree "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" (Mark 11:14). The next day, they passed the tree again and the disciples noticed that the tree had withered from the roots up (Mark 11:20). That is a cursed tree.

Granted, He could have just been hungry and cranky and made an offhand comment at a tree. But the message my pastor gave was much more thought-provoking than an angry, cranky Jesus. What caught Jesus' eye was how extremely leafy the tree was, especially compared to those around it. He was curious and hungry, and went to take a closer look. But what He found was that though from a distance, the tree looked to be fruit-bearing, it was bare. Now, Jesus had spent all His preaching time talking about God's love and forgiveness and all that good stuff, but here He is, about to die, and maybe, just maybe, He was leaving us with some insight into what was to come.

My understanding of Hell isn't that it's a physical place of heat and fire and brimstone and whatnot, but rather a spiritual place that is simply devoid of the presence of God. "Sinners go to Hell" isn't a factual statement, because, in fact, we're all sinners, but some of us choose to spend our eternity with God, and others choose not to. God isn't sentencing you to an eternity of misery and despair, He's simply acknowledging the choice you made in life, to not be with Him, and allowing you to spend the rest of your existence that way. Jesus did the same with the fig tree. He didn't say "Die now!" He said "remain as you are, fruitless".

Bearing fruit is a term often used to describe a believer's walk with God. You bear fruit if you hold God in your heart, you love others as He loves you, and you live your life for Him. Pastor Gary then used the idea of showing leaves as "talking the talk, but not walking the walk". People who are teach Sunday school or do bake sales or picket funerals in God's name, they're outwardly proclaiming their faith, they're showing a lot of leaves...but are they bearing fruit?

There will come a time when God looks at each and every one of us to see if we are bearing the fruit that will curb His hunger. He hungers for our love, for our faith, for our reliance, for us to follow Him. When the day comes, when He says "remain as you are", will you remain in His presence? Or will you wither from the roots up as you spend eternity without His light?

It is not ours to judge but God's alone. Do not condemn those you know who are leafy but fruitless. Speak to them with love as Jesus did to those who were outcasts, Gentiles, Samaritans, lost. Our conviction comes from the way we live our lives, not from the way we instruct others to live theirs. God gave us free will, but he gave everyone else free will too. Yes we should share God's love with everyone, but He didn't say anything about beating them over the head with Bibles. You would do better to spend your time reading them.

So, Fig Monday is now added to my list of favorite holidays, right up there with Easter (HALLELUJAH) and Christmas. If we can all take the time once a year to look into our hearts and see if there's fruit there, or just leaves, we will be that much closer to being more like Jesus.