What Happened to The Fruit?
January 10, 2022
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Like many small countries, Israel in Jesus’s day was largely agrarian: orchards, vineyards, crops and sheep and goats. Much of his teaching was laced with agrarian references, as were many of his parables. One was about a barren fig tree, a lesson about God patiently for change, for repentance, but he won’t wait forever. What can we learn about ourselves from a barren fig tree?
“A man had a fig tree, and went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So, he said to the man who took care of the orchard, ‘For three years I’ve been looking for figs on this tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’” The man said, ‘Let’s try one more year. If it bears fruit, fine, if not, I’ll cut it down.’”
Luke 13:6-7
Years ago, I had a huge fig tree in my backyard. Its limbs hung over the fence and had branches above the roof line. I didn’t like the tree. It was trashy and didn’t produce good figs. But I decided to prune it and take better care of it to see if might improve. It didn’t. Ultimately, I pruned it down to a stump. When my wife saw it, she was shocked and asked, “What happened to the tree?”
The Luke 13 parable seems harsh, but it is a strong reminder of the importance of growing and producing fruit. Fruit trees bear fruit.
As we rise through the soil, we grow our faith and strengthen our Jesus connection. We need to be mindful of whatever hinders our growth.
• Are any of these things preventing you from growing?
sin, laziness, indifference, procrastination
• What changes do you need to make?
O Lord, it’s me confessing that I have been unengaged. I don’t seem to be growing and I know I need to. Today, I commit to changing.
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