Day 27: Mark 11:12-14, 20-21

During the Spring if a fig tree has leaves that means it should also have fruit. So when Jesus saw the tree had leaves he expected to find fruit as well. Compare this story to the religious leaders that Jesus confronts when he gets to the Temple later that day. From the outside they looked like they were spiritual. They wore the right clothes, they acted the right way, they said the right things. But there was no fruit. They weren’t producing anything of value.

Unfortunately, the same could be said of many Christians, and even many churches today. On the outside everything looks good. We have all the right clothes. We have great worship music, great coffee, great facilities, great preaching, but it’s all for show. There is no fruit being produced. 

In John chapter 15 Jesus says, “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”

I want to be the kind of Christian that produces much fruit. I want to be a part of a church that produces much fruit. If you aren’t producing fruit personally, if you are a part of a church that has no fruit, it’s time to evaluate whether or not your are truly connected to the True Vine.