“ ‘Sir,’ the man replied,
‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilise it. If
it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ” Luke 13. 8,9
Jesus’ conversation with the
crowd concerns repentance. Jesus cites two examples (otherwise unknown) of
people seemingly being punished by death. He tells the people, however, that
the victims were no more guilty than the rest of us. We all need to repent,
otherwise we perish.
He then tells a parable. The
owner of a vineyard had a fig tree which, over three years, had borne no fruit.
The owner instructed the vineyard worker to cut down the fig tree. But the
worker intervened and suggested, instead, that he tend and fertilise the fig
tree for one year to see if it would bear fruit.
The parable is in the context
of the need to repent. In the time of telling, the fig tree may have
represented a reprobate Israelite. Transferring the story to today, the fig
tree may be seen as any unrepentant soul. And Jesus’ message is that all need
to be fully repentant.
What then of the vineyard
worker? I see this man as Jesus. Jesus facilitates our repentance. Jesus
intervenes on our behalf. He tends and fertilises the “fig tree” for as long as
it takes. Jesus can “dig around” our roots and aerate (bring life into) the
soil we exist in. Jesus is the fertilizer we need for healthy life in God.
However long a season of unfruitfulness we experience, Jesus can get us on the
right course in a very short time.
Lord Jesus,
You tell us clearly that You are the way, the truth and the life. I
embrace You in all those things. I repent in the fullest measure to which I am
able. I rejoice that You have taken me over and brought me from a place of
barrenness into a fruitful life. You have dug around the soil that I live in.
You have brought life into my life. You continue to feed me as I look to You.
Loving Saviour, may I always steady my gaze on You. May Your Holy Spirit
lead me, support me and strengthen me in this. May I become ever more fruitful
in You.
My book “God Talk” is available through major
Internet booksellers.
A taste of the book's content can be seen in
the You Tube clip (Search: Peter Francis - "God Talk").
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