Fruitful or Fruitless

 

Missy and I have lived in a loft apartment for the past three years after moving to Sullivan County for my job. The complex is full of trees, shrubs, and flowering paths which gives this downtown property an earthy appeal that we have certainly enjoyed. I say that, yet recently my enjoyment of the beauty of the landscape came into question which serves as the impetus for today's Flat Tire message. I am a creature of habit and as such I tend to park in pretty much the same spot, enter the same door, and make my way up the steps to our loft in the same manner each day. At the doorway I normally enter a river birch tree is situated adjacent to the doorway which has served as a welcoming steward for me each afternoon when I return from work. Days turned into months, months have turned into three years, and I have entered that same doorway for the majority of those three years. At some point, I must have started taking the welcoming leafy branches of the birch for granted. I'm not sure how long ago it happened, but recently I realized the tree is dead. Honestly, I was shocked. I literally walk by that tree everyday seven days a week for the most part. At what point did that tree die? How did I not notice that it was dead? And, did I miss signs that the tree was in danger and that it needed a tree doctor? I guess I'll never know how long ago the river birch tree died, but now each day I walk by a dead, meaningless collection of dried up twigs and branches. No leaves swaying in the wind, no birds nesting in its branches, and no potential to provide shade from the hot summer sun. Lifeless. 

My river birch encounter brought to mind the living parable Jesus shared with His disciples regarding a fig tree he passed that was not bearing fruit. My takeaway from Jesus' encounter with the fig tree resonated well with my own river birch experience. "Early in the morning, as Jesus was on His way back to the city, He was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered. Matthew 21:18-19. The lesson learned by Jesus' disciples here was that if you aren't bearing fruit, then you really aren't living out your life's purpose. If the tree isn't bearing fruit, which was one of its main purposes in life, then outside of draining the ground of valuable nutrients and moisture, that particular tree was not worthy to be used. So what did Jesus do? He cursed the tree and it died. 

The intersection of these two separate but similar encounters created my thought for today. With the river birch, I walked by that tree for days, months, and most likely at least a year and never noticed that the tree was dead. I suppose I could say I just took the tree's purpose for granted and assumed that it was doing its job. Now that I have realized that the tree is dead, I am certain that the maintenance team will eventually dig up or cut down the dead tree and hopefully replace it with a live sapling. The lesson isn't completely about the tree not doing its job, but more about me not realizing it wasn't doing its job, and walking by it everyday taking it for granted that the tree was doing it's job. Coupled with my river birch, Jesus condemning the fig tree for not producing fruit, which is it's purpose in life, made for a pretty fair and consistent assessment on the life we are living for our audience today. 

Are we that river birch? Is it possible that we are moving through life assuming that we are doing exactly what we were purposed for, when in actuality we are dead and lifeless, not fulfilling the plans God created you to fulfill? Do we walk right by our purpose each day without realizing that we much like the fig tree are not producing the fruit that will ultimately expand God's Kingdom? Personally, I don't want to walk through my life and never realize that I am not living God's purpose and plans for the life He gave me to live. I don't want to unintentionally not bear fruit that will sustain the lives of those I live, love, and work with each day. I don't want life to pass by me and me not realize that I was dead to Christ. I want to live with His purpose in mind and I want that for each of you reading this post today. I want His living water to run through my veins each day and I want to witness His purpose being played out in the work I do, the relationships I nurture, and the outcomes that I have an opportunity to impact. And I want that for you. 

Live your life to its fullest each day. Live with purpose, His purpose, and live your life bearing His fruit. Not for our own benefit, but for the benefit of those we share life with each day! 

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Coach Carter