LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Monday 25th October 2021
GOD ABHORS FRUITLESSNESS
Scripture Reading: Matthew 21:18-22
And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away. Matthew 21:19
Jesus did many miraculous works during His earthly ministry. In His miracles, the Lord made situations better. He made the sick well, calmed stormy seas and turned sinners to God – all of these were positive. There is, however one instance when Jesus miraculously turned a bad situation worse. That was when Jesus cursed an unfruitful fig tree to wither. Why didn’t the Lord command the unfruitful tree to produce but condemned it to perpetual unfruitfulness?
In many of His parables and teachings, Jesus showed aversion to people who did not produce results with what they had. He used lessons from the parables of the talents, minas and the fig tree to caution against laziness and unproductivity. In the Old Testament, God’s prophets decried those who were planted by the Lord and yet failed to produce results.
God does not take kindly to wastage. When the Lord invests His grace in us, He expects us to use it to bear fruits. The Lord gives us life so that our lives will be beneficial to others. God does not just bless us to feel blessed; He blesses us so that we can be a blessing.
The fig tree had leaves on it. Leaves represent activity. That is what the tree had done; it was full of activities that did not yield the expected results. If we live our lives as the fig tree, the Lord will treat us as He did to the tree. In the parable of the talents, the master took the talent from the unproductive servant. The talent taken from him was given to the more productive servant.
Some would have expected Christ to speak life to the unfruitful fig tree. Or for the master of the unproductive servant to have allowed the servant to keep his talent. However, in both cases, Christ took away from the one who had not produced. I wonder how many of us would survive if Jesus was our boss at work.
If we fail to use the gifts and grace that God has poured into our lives, He will give our assignment to others. Let us strive to make the best use of God’s grace on our lives.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, make my life fruitful. Help me to use all the gifts you have given me to their fullest. In Jesus’ name, Amen.