Are you being fruitful?

Reading through one of my devotional books the other day, it led me to the story of when Jesus was walking into the city near Bethany one morning, and he was hungry as He approached a fig tree. As He went near it to take some fruit to eat, He finds only the leaves but no fruit, because it wasn't time yet. Jesus then curses it and says,

Let no fruit grow henceforward for ever. -Matthew 21:18-22 

The fig tree then withered away and completely dried up from the roots. The same account of this story is also found in Mark 11:11-14, and 20-26. This time, Jesus says: No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

That's pretty harsh right? I didn't understand how Jesus could curse the fig tree forever for not having any fruit at the time He hungered.  

But the thing is Jesus wasn't opposed to the fig tree. He was opposed to any aspect of creation not fulfilling its intended purpose.  

The lack of fruit on the fig tree meant that it was not fulfilling its purpose as a tree... to bear fruit. It was dead on the inside. And because Jesus always had a purpose to everything He did to teach us, He likened the lack of productivity of the fig tree to the lack of true spiritual growth and life in those who claimed they knew the Lord, but their lives bore no fruit to show it. In this case He was speaking about the nation of Israel.

The Lord gave a great example to the disciples that day, that one: 

He had the power to completely cut someone or something off if He truly wanted to, and He saw there was no fruit there, and 

two: we are created for God's glory and if we say we follow Him and believe in His word... fruit should naturally come from our lives so that others could come to see and know who this God is that we worship.

Israel had become religious with all of the beautiful temples, the sacrifices, the fancy robes that the educated Pharisees and scribes wore... it all looked quite put together on the outside. But on the inside they were spiritually dead and far from the Lord. 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. -Matthew 23:27

Hmm, this sounds very similar to what we see going on today... organized religion. The grand churches stun people with their beautiful architecture and grandiosity... but they are dead on the inside. There is no real faith, it appears beautiful on the outside, but is full of dead men's bones on the inside. Just like Jesus said. 

Thankfully the Lord is full of mercy and grace and doesn't just cut us off like He did to the fig tree. He warns us through His word and other believers, so that all have the opportunity to know the truth. 

So, are we being fruitful? God summarizes the purpose of man's life in these few words:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. -Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

We were all created with this mighty purpose... now let's go out there and use everything God gave us for His glory.