I've long been fascinated with the story of Jesus and the fig tree.
It tells me that followers of Christ can also issue commands of faith if their commands align with God's will and they trust the Lord to act.
You may recall the story of the fig tree in Mark 11 and Matthew 21.
Initially, the story seems trifling - maybe even strange. Jesus and his disciples pass a fig tree and Jesus walks up to pick figs to eat. But there are no figs on the tree so he says: "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." (Mark 11:12-14)
The next morning, they pass the fig tree and Peter says to Jesus: "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
Then, Jesus follows up with a profound lesson from this seemingly trivial incident.
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
I admit that my heart reaction to this story is: "Jesus, you can't really mean this! That's impossible!"
But Jesus did say in John 14:12: "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father."
Jesus issued commands of faith on other occasions. In Mark 4, Jesus and the disciples were in a boat when the winds whipped up the sea while Christ slept. The disciples were terrified but Jesus woke up and simply told the blustery wind, "Silence! Be still!", and the wind stopped and the waters became calm.
Christ also rebuked demons and ordered them to leave afflicted people.
In the Old Testament, Joshua told the sun to stand still to enable the Israelites to win a battle - and the sun stood still. (Joshua 10:12)
Indeed, believers today have had remarkably similar experiences.
Derek Prince, author of Secrets of a Prayer Warrior, tells of a teenaged Zambian girl bicycling to one of his meetings in Africa, suddenly being confronted by a huge cobra, emerging from a 20-to-30-foot high anthill.
She stopped before the snake, trembling. Then, says Prince, the "Spirit of God came upon her, and she said, 'In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, go back into your hole.'"
The cobra stopped and turned its head towards its hole but remained motionless. The girl repeated her command and it turned around and went back into the hole.
"When she got to our meeting place, she was still trembling," Prince writes. "In that command, God's strength was made perfect in weakness."
The passage about the fig tree indicates that these commands succeed when we have faith and we are right with God. We do not depend on our own power, but on the power of God.
As well, we know our requests will be heard and answered if we ask according to what God wants. (1 John 5:14-15)
There is much for me to ponder in this great story of the fig tree. May the Lord increase my faith.
It tells me that followers of Christ can also issue commands of faith if their commands align with God's will and they trust the Lord to act.
You may recall the story of the fig tree in Mark 11 and Matthew 21.
Initially, the story seems trifling - maybe even strange. Jesus and his disciples pass a fig tree and Jesus walks up to pick figs to eat. But there are no figs on the tree so he says: "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." (Mark 11:12-14)
The next morning, they pass the fig tree and Peter says to Jesus: "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
Then, Jesus follows up with a profound lesson from this seemingly trivial incident.
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
I admit that my heart reaction to this story is: "Jesus, you can't really mean this! That's impossible!"
But Jesus did say in John 14:12: "I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father."
Jesus issued commands of faith on other occasions. In Mark 4, Jesus and the disciples were in a boat when the winds whipped up the sea while Christ slept. The disciples were terrified but Jesus woke up and simply told the blustery wind, "Silence! Be still!", and the wind stopped and the waters became calm.
Christ also rebuked demons and ordered them to leave afflicted people.
In the Old Testament, Joshua told the sun to stand still to enable the Israelites to win a battle - and the sun stood still. (Joshua 10:12)
Indeed, believers today have had remarkably similar experiences.
Derek Prince, author of Secrets of a Prayer Warrior, tells of a teenaged Zambian girl bicycling to one of his meetings in Africa, suddenly being confronted by a huge cobra, emerging from a 20-to-30-foot high anthill.
She stopped before the snake, trembling. Then, says Prince, the "Spirit of God came upon her, and she said, 'In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, go back into your hole.'"
The cobra stopped and turned its head towards its hole but remained motionless. The girl repeated her command and it turned around and went back into the hole.
"When she got to our meeting place, she was still trembling," Prince writes. "In that command, God's strength was made perfect in weakness."
The passage about the fig tree indicates that these commands succeed when we have faith and we are right with God. We do not depend on our own power, but on the power of God.
As well, we know our requests will be heard and answered if we ask according to what God wants. (1 John 5:14-15)
There is much for me to ponder in this great story of the fig tree. May the Lord increase my faith.
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