Anyone for a fig?
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ… Philippians 1:6 KJV
One year I planted a small fig tree in the yard. The next year two little sticks came back with a few leaves. The second year I think it had two figs on it. I wasn’t too inspired by its progress. But from the third year onward, it has steadily grown and produced many figs.
The fig is one of the most, if not the most, mentioned fruits in the Bible. There are people who believe it was actually a fig and not an apple that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden. But they say the fig is not actually a fruit. According to the California Figs website “…the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself. The seeds are drupes or the real fruit.” Personally, to me, the fig is still a fruit. I don’t care what they say. And don’t get me started about Pluto not being a planet anymore.
Juney, short for Junior, as his Dad nicknamed him, sat in the back of the police car. It was his college years and Yale, his school, had just defeated Princeton in a football game. Princeton was the home team, but that didn’t stop his buddies and him from drinking and having a good time. They decided they would add to their celebration by tearing down the goal post. Juney sat on top of the crossbar shouting instructions. The Princeton police were not amused and that was why he was in the back of their car. He could hear his friends shouting for his freedom. He was eventually released and told never to return again to Princeton.
It seemed like every day was a new adventure. They were still in training and he might have been getting a little frustrated that they weren’t further along. It seemed, no matter how much he drilled ideas into them, they just didn’t seem to get it. That day ended up being just like any other day, which meant trying to teach them a lesson. Hopefully, this time they would understand.
Juney was from a very good family. His grandfather was a senator. His Dad, trying to make it on his own, would turn out to be a successful politician, too. As the oldest son, much was expected of him. But he had a different goal and it was spelled: F-U-N. He knew how to have fun and that usually meant his sidekick, Alcohol, was close by his side. I’m sure his parents were beside themselves as what to do. But his parents loved him very much and they never gave up on him.
As our Bible character was walking down the road with his followers, you could almost hear the frustration in his voice. Was it his followers or the road ahead? We may never know. He was hungry and that probably didn’t help matters any. He reached for something to eat. Lo and behold there was nothing there. That was the last straw.
Juney’s Dad knew Billy Graham and he asked him to talk to Juney. Juney politely listened and took some of it in, but he was still more interested in having fun than getting real involved with the religious stuff. Billy Graham didn’t give up on him either. Reverend Graham sent Juney a copy of the Living Bible and in the front he wrote our introduction verse.
Yes, Jesus was hungry and the fig tree he reached into had no figs. The tree should have been filled with figs and yet there were none. In the climax of Jesus’ frustration, He cursed the tree. The tree died. The disciples’ jaws dropped. They did not know what to say or do. Why were they surprised? Didn’t they twice see him feed thousands of people with scraps? Didn’t they see him walk on water? Peter had the soaked clothes to prove it. Why were they surprised the cursed tree bowed to His command?
Juney’s Dad had company over one night. Juney had been drinking and was in rare form. Thinking he was being funny, he turned to the couple, in front of his parents, and asked them a very inappropriate question about their sex life. His parents were absolutely embarrassed and he knew he had gone too far this time. He absolutely loved his parents and wouldn’t intentionally do something to hurt them, especially not something this bad. It was then that George W. Bush saw what the alcohol was doing to his life and he decided to give up drinking.
Jesus turned to his disciples and basically said, “Why are you surprised?” He also told them, if they had real faith they would be able not only to do this, but they could also tell the mountains to move and the mountains would move. The strange thing about it is I don’t think they, or anyone in history, has ever moved a mountain with their faith. Or have they?
Often in life we all face those unmovable mountains. Neither George W. Bush’s parents, nor Billy Graham, would ever lose faith in Juney. Later, George W. Bush would become Governor of Texas and President of the United States. The mountain moved. The disciples ran when they took Jesus away, but Jesus never lost faith in them. Later, they would help start the Church and many would write Books for the modern Bible. The mountain moved. So, what mountain do you need moved? Faith just might be the answer.
Prayer: Father, Sometimes my life feels like it has more mountains than flatland. Help me to realize, nothing is impossible if I have faith, even moving those seemingly unmovable mountains. Please let me have that kind of faith that can move mountains. Amen.
