Luke 13:6-9, “
Jesus told this story: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. … the man said to his gardener, ‘I have been looking for fruit on this tree for three years, but I never find any. Cut it down. Why should it waste the ground?’ But the servant answered, ‘Master, let the tree have one more year to produce fruit. Let me dig up the dirt around it and put on some fertilizer. If the tree produces fruit next year, good. But if not, you can cut it down.’”
I wonder how many times in my life I’ve been “The Useless Tree” in this story. It’s so easy for my focus to go from the eternal to the immediate and begin working on what’s best for my comfort rather than what’s best for my condition. If Jesus is the gardener, I’m sure there have been countless times he’s interceded for me. I’m sure that more often than I’d like to admit, He’s gone to the Father to say, “Hang on; don’t give up yet, this fruit is good. Let me work on this tree for a bit and get it to produce fruit again.”
According to this parable, “working on the tree” means digging up dirt and adding fertilizer. Sometimes I feel like there’s enough “fertilizer” in my life – too much junk. But in this case, fertilizer refers to food. Good food. Plant food. The Word of God, spending time alone with Him, worship, fellowship, keeping in step with the spirit rather than what the flesh wants – this is all good food that will help produce fruit for my God. I need more of this in my life, as we all do.
Unfortunately, instead of good food, instead of fertilizer, we have a lot of dirt. Dry dirt. Dirt that takes up space and makes us feel like we’re planted firmly, but offers nothing in return. Instead, it starves us. It replaces the food we need from God with emptiness, and we wither. The fruit stops growing, and we waste the ground we stand on. This is not how I want to live. Choose this day whom you will serve … as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
It’s time to let the Gardener do His job again, to dig out the dirt in my life and replace it with rich, dark soil that will feed my deepest spiritual hunger and allow me to produce the kind of fruit He wants, fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. This is how I want to be identified. By their fruit you will recognize them. This is how I will be identified. I am going to be a good tree and produce the fruit my Father is looking for.
RSS Feed (xml)
Luke 13:6-9, “Jesus told this story: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. … the man said to his gardener, ‘I have been looking for fruit on this tree for three years, but I never find any. Cut it down. Why should it waste the ground?’ But the servant answered, ‘Master, let the tree have one more year to produce fruit. Let me dig up the dirt around it and put on some fertilizer. If the tree produces fruit next year, good. But if not, you can cut it down.’”
