He Does Mean Business
[Jesus] told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.'” (Lk 13:6-9)
We are so used to “getting another chance.” We pretty much build ourselves up on the idea that, if we do something wrong, we will have an opportunity to do it again so that we can get it right.
Because of that philosophy, some people do not give their best initially. They give enough energy at what they feel is the bare minimum in order to accomplish something. If that isn’t quite good enough, they’ll give a little extra effort.
Jesus indicated in today’s parable that there are some things that are not going to be given any more chances. If they reach the limit, they will be done away with. The fig tree in today’s parable is one such thing. The gardener got a final reprieve for it. However, after the next growing season, if the tree did not produce fruit, it would be cut down.
I wonder how often God has waited for us to produce spiritual fruit. How many times have we been like that fig tree? How many times have we produced nothing?
Should we push our luck and hope that we get one more season? Or, rather, should we do all that we can do to produce fruit — today, even.
FAITH ACTION: What have you been putting off in your spiritual life? Begin working on it today.