Mark 11:12-13, "And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet."

This morning, we are experiencing a very hot season of summer. In certain years, summers are hotter than others, while winters can be either harsh or mild. In our lives, the seasons are much the same, as we have good seasons and bad seasons to various and sundry degrees. However, none of our good seasons are worthy to be compared to the endless day of eternity, and none of our bad seasons are worthy to be compared with what our Lord suffered in our room and stead. Therefore, no matter the season, we are never to be puffed up with pride or down in the dumps with self-pity.

In this account, we find several interesting things to draw our attention. Our Lord, while walking this earth, had natural patterns such as eating, sleeping, and resting as we do. However, these patterns never wandered into sin, but they were natural, non-wicked activities. So, He comes to this fig tree to eat (even though as the Omniscient Creator He already knew that there was no fruit). When there is nothing but leaves, He eventually commands it fruit. As the Sovereign Ruler, it withers under the curse that He gave. However, notice that the reason there was no fruit was that it was not the season for figs. Is this a valid excuse to the Lord? No excuse is worthy to give unto Him, and our lives are no less.

Sometimes people tell me, "Well, sometimes I just don't feel like going to church." My response is, "Sometimes I don't feel like preaching, come on anyway." We are commanded to be instant in season and out of season. Whether we feel like it or not, we are commanded to bring forth acceptable fruit in our lives. It is not always easy, and sometimes the effort is very time-consuming. But, there is never anything worthy to say to our Lord about why we failed. If this fig tree could talk, it would probably have said, "Lord, it's not time for figs. It's not time for me to bear fruit."

However, if our Lord comes expecting something from us, then we need to be ready to give account for our use of the talents that He bestows unto us. We cannot just bury our gift in the ground and think that giving Him back that talent is enough. We must work and labour in His vineyard to make more talents and bring forth more fruit. He has commanded us to bring forth fruit in all seasons, and comments like, "Lord, I didn't because..." are not acceptable. The acceptable fruit of repentance is, "Lord, I didn't, and by Thy grace, I will try to serve Thee better in the future than I have in the past." One final point, the passage says that our Lord was hungry. Now, in His glorified state, His body no longer has natural hunger or fatigue. But, our Lord still has desires of a spiritual nature. He desires that His children walk in paths that are pleasing to Him. Our prayers are compared to vials that have sweet smelling odours in them. When our prayers come up to God, the vial is poured out to fill the throneroom with the fragrance. His desire is that we do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. When He visits us in our lives, He is visiting us expecting us to have fruit from our labours. May He not find just leaves, for our Lord has given us the light and understanding that we have.

It is well within His right to remove our understanding and leave us in darkness (withered up as the fig tree). May we be found serving Him in spirit and in truth to the praise of His honour and glory.