Title: He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves
God doesn’t judge a Christian or a congregation by the firmness of his claim to faith, or by the extravagance of its edifices and pageantry in its worship services, but by the fruits it produces, although it may not be the season for gathering them. These fruits, being by the road and therefore public domain, are the nourishment for the hungry traveler, the comfort to a troubled soul, a shelter for the oppressed. We cannot detach the practical physical nature of our faith from the spiritual. We cannot claim spiritual growth and maturity, when upon closer investigation we have nothing to offer to those in need, and we are not unlike a tree that is about ready to be cursed.
