All Bark and No Bite

The saying, “All bark and no bite,” likens people to dogs that continue to bark but they never carry out their threat. When someone is all bark and no bite they proclaim to be one thing, like being tough, when in reality they’re the exact opposite, like a marshmallow.

It’s also a good description of those who proclaim to be Christians, but their actions speak something completely different.

When Jesus was heading to Jerusalem it says He was hungry when He saw a fig tree looking like it had some fruit.

“And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, ‘Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.’” (Mark 11:13-14)

The fig tree gave the appearance of having fruit but didn’t. It was in appearance only. So Jesus answered its false claim and cursed it saying it will never produce again, that it will never fool people anyone again by its appearance. The next day the fig tree withered and died from the ground up.

Its source of life stopped giving its life giving properties.

Jesus says we’ll be known, not by how we look or what we say, but rather by what we do, that is by our fruit. (Matthew 7:20) And so when Jesus comes back will He find faith? Will He find the faith we outwardly proclaim, or will he find that we’re all bark and no bite?

To produce the fruit or faith that is pleasing to God we need to tap our roots into Jesus, to abide in Him, and when we do, Jesus said that this will result in our producing lots of fruit (John 15:1-9).

To abide means to remain, and to remain in Jesus calls for us to daily be in His word.