Potential

He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.”                                                                                                                                               Luke 13.8

The landowner saw that the fig tree continued to be fruitless and he wanted to remove it. But the gardener saw the potential for the tree to produce fruit if it was well tended and cared for.

And so it can be with people. We may meet or know people who have been apparently barren for years, leading unfruitful, unproductive and maybe aimless lives. It would be so easy to give up on such people, to determine that they won’t change, and maybe don’t even want to change.

But there is another perspective. I see Jesus in the role that the gardener takes in the parable. And I hear Him say, in respect of those people who appear as the barren fig tree: “Wait, and look! Each person is my Father’s creation. And each is made in our image. There is fruit in every individual. Some may be good fruit and some not-so-good. Be patient, and look for the potential good fruit. As the gardener tended the fig tree, so my disciples – those who are serious about following me – can patiently love and encourage those who live in seeming hopelessness. Encouragement is a wonderful aid to good fruit. Combine it with Godly wisdom and you have the makings of a great gardener, one who will facilitate the production of good fruit in others.”

Lord Jesus,

I hear what You say. Forgive me for those times when I write off people as too difficult for me to help. Let me see people through Your eyes. Help me to recognise their potential, and guide me in the ways in which I can be most helpful to them. May we see much good fruit through the ministry of genuine Christian friendship. Thank You.         Amen.

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