Nothing but leaves

�And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He (Jesus) went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When he came to it, He found nothing but leaves�� Mark 11: 13

Having read this section of Scripture numerous times in the 22 years as a Christian, I was caught short recently by the words �nothing but leaves�. Jesus was looking for fruit not leaves.
A tree can be beautiful and lush with an abundance of leaves but if it is not bearing fruit, it falls short of its god-given purpose. Oh, sure it looks good, and a person has to get close enough to notice there is no fruit. To the casual observer it would look �fruitful� but to the curious observer that took the time to look closely it would be recognized as �fruitless�.
When I read the words �nothing but leaves� it caused me to consider my own life. If Jesus were to examine me, would He find desirable fruit or nothing but leaves? I don�t want to fall into the trap of looking good on the outside but being barren on the inside. Ministry especially, can lull us into a counterfeit sense of relationship and service, when in reality we can be going through the motions fooling everyone else, even ourselves, but we don�t fool God.
Support groups can also result in �nothing but leaves� if the participants don�t make application of what they are learning. If the women that attend Higher Ground (America's KESWICK women�s support group) come week after week but do not change, going home to their same patterns of behavior they arrived with, the result is �nothing but leaves�.
How are you doing? Is there evidence in your life of genuine fruit or are you hiding behind �nothing but leaves�?

Diane