Luke 13:1-9

Be still: Dear Lord, thank you for this new day and your love for me. Please speak to me through your precious Word. Amen

Read: Luke 13:1-9

A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

'Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ (vv6-9)

Encounter: My husband Jerome loves growing plants, especially things that can be edible. If we taste a particularly delicious mango, that seed gets saved, germinates in a wrapped-up damp tissue, then put in a pot of dirt to grow. His office has become something of a jungle. Where I see overcrowding and slow progress, Jerome sees potential and loves the plants a lot. Even the plants that seem stuck or unhealthy are not discarded. Instead, he intervenes — repotting, repositioning, treating them, whatever is needed to help them grow.

The parable of the fig tree reveals the heart of God towards us. He’s not quick to give up. Like the gardener (who knows exactly what needs to be done in that year for the tree), he is patient and attentive, willing to step in and do the deeper work in our lives. Sometimes it feels uncomfortable, like being dug around and treated, but it is always purposeful so we can bear fruit. 

When I think about the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) they are not things we manufacture on our own, but the natural result of a life rooted in relationship with the Holy Spirit. When I said 'yes' to Jesus, I repented from my old ways and welcomed the Holy Spirit into my life which means that he shapes me, fills me so that I’m not like an unfruitful tree abandoned with no potential: I’m available for him to work in me to help me flourish for his kingdom.

Apply: Are you allowing the gardener to tend to you? Are you open to his work in your life? Maybe you’re at a point where there is some stuff deep down that could do with being dug up for you to move forward in faith.

Devote: Lord Jesus, I want to trust deeply that you have my best interests at heart. Even if it means making uncomfortable changes, I want a life devoted to you, always filled and led by your Spirit.