Not the Season for Figs

I am much amused by the "God hates figs" slogan used by Westboro Baptist Church counter-protesters, which I stumbled across while looking up Bible passages for my last post.  Here is the reference from Mark 11:12-14 and 20-22 (again from the New King James version at BibleGateway):

Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  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." 

And His disciples heard it. 

. . . . 

Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." 

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God."

 To me this is a much harder lesson to understand than "by their fruits you will know them."