DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- IS GOD UNREASONABLE?

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – IS GOD UNREASONABLE?

"Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.'  So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Have faith in God.' "  (Mark 11:20-21)

At first glance, this incident in the ministry of Jesus is perplexing.  The background is found in yesterday's reading.  The day before, Jesus had come from Bethany on His way to Jerusalem, and He was hungry.  Seeing a fig tree along the way, He went up to the tree to see if there was any fruit on it.  All He found was leaves because it was not the season for figs.  Finding no sign of fruit, Jesus cursed the tree (Mark 11:12-14).

Now, the next day as Jesus and His disciples were on their way back into Jerusalem, they passed that fig tree and it was dried up from the roots.  It died very quickly.  Peter was amazed at the rapid transformation.  Jesus simply responded, "Have faith in God."  In other words, "Trust Me."   It should have been no surprise to the disciples that what Jesus said came to pass.

Was Jesus being unreasonable to expect figs when it was not the right season?  I want to suggest that even though it was not the season for harvesting figs, still one might expect that there might be some first fruits.  I know that not all of the fruit on my orange tree ripens at the same time, and there are usually some oranges that ripen earlier than the harvest time.  Perhaps that is what was going on.  It was not unreasonable to expect that there might be some early fruit.  

God might expect some fruit in my life even though much of it has not matured. I would hope that there might be some evidence that there is fruit coming.   If Jesus walked by my life today, would He find any fruit?  I hope so.  Jesus can reasonably expect that there will be fruit developing in my life.

Love, Dad