Learn a Lesson from the Fig Tree

From the Fig Tree, Learn Its Lesson
“As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.”
— Matthew 24:32 (NRSV)

A man was watching his 80yearold neighbor plant a small peach tree. He asked him, “You don’t expect to eat peaches from that tree, do you?”

The old man rested on his spade and replied, “No, at my age I know I won’t. But all my life I have enjoyed peaches—never from a tree I planted myself. I’m just trying to pay back the other fellows who planted the trees for me.”
— Paul J. Wharton, Stories and Parables for Preachers and Teachers (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1986), 33

Friends,

I believe that everyone leaves a legacy. We create last wills and testaments to help guide the distribution of our property when we die. Yet after the checks are written, deposited, cashed, or perhaps invested, a deeper question remains: What will people say about the life we lived once we are gone?

What will be the true testimony of a life—whether lived for three years or 103? The truth is, we all leave something behind.

For some, leaving the world better than they found it means financial stability for those who follow. For others, it may mean leaving their personal world in good order. Perhaps it is a song written that speaks of God’s love, a timely hug, a hand held at just the right moment, or a cup of cold water offered to a homeless child of God.

Still others wonder what will be etched on a headstone, or whether a bronze plaque bearing their name will hang somewhere in the church. When I came across this story of a man planting a tree whose fruit he would never taste, I was reminded that he was honoring unknown others who had done the same for him.

We are blessed because we stand on the shoulders of many who came before us—those who graced the halls, classrooms, pulpits, choir lofts, pews, and countless committees of the church. Some of them surely wondered whether their prayers offered, presence given, gifts shared, and service rendered truly made a difference.

The answer is yes.

I encourage you to reflect on what you will plant today—seeds whose fruit you may never harvest, yet which will bless those who come after you in life, in the church, and in the community.

[Remember the church in your will.]

Everyone leaves a legacy. What will yours be?

Blessings from Pottsboro,
Pastor Frank
alegria@lakewayumc.org