The Parable of the Fiddle Fig Plant in My House

Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the Law of the Lord,

And on His Law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season,

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1: 1-4 NASB

I bought my first fiddle fig a year ago at Costco. I had wanted one for quite some time. I loved its big green leaves that looked like umbrellas and how tall they could grow. 

When I picked mine out from among the many plants piled into a display together, they were all crowded onto a flat in the center of the store. Clearly they were without sunlight, they were being watered; but maybe even over watered in their small pots and close quarters. In other words, they were languishing. 

Arrow points to the first leaf 
that bloomed after 
getting it home. 

I brought my fiddle fig home and new right away it needed a larger pot and good soil. Then when it got its first bloom, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was excited. They usually bloom in twos or threes. Well, the first leaf that came out was, puny. It wasn't just puny, it was mis-formed. I thought maybe I had done something wrong, but in my research I learned that the blooms reflect the health of the plant PRIOR to the bloom shows up. 

A small, miss-shapen leaf is the sign that it hadn't been tended well, had LACKED what it needed prior to the first visual appearance of it. 

Is that not also true of us and our spiritual lives? We don't even realize it, but when we are NOT in God's word, when we are NOT praying, when we are NOT planted by the Living Water...we aren't getting nourished in a way that produces healthy fruit. We are languishing in our tiny little pots, not getting any sun, not getting any water into our roots because they aren't able to spread and grow and breathe. 

I cannot emphasize enough how necessary it is these days to be in the Bible. We have to know the REAL Word inside and out in order to recognize imposters because there are so many false teachers these days who have created their own gospel and have turned away from the true Word of God. 

Father God, keep the fire alive in my heart to continue to dig into Your Word, Your Law...that I may not be pulled and pushed with the winds that blow this way and that. Help me to stand firm on Your precepts and love Your Ways. Amen.