Then he told this parable: “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.’” Luke 13:6-8 NIV
The owner of a vineyard expects that his trees will produce fruit. Once in a while, he realizes a tree is unhealthy, and despite his best attempts, it still fails to bear fruit. At that point, the farmer concludes that the tree is just taking up valuable space so he cuts it down and plants a new tree that will eventually give him a return on his investment. In this simple parable, the owner of the vineyard was expecting figs after a year or two, but still hadn’t found any after three years. He concluded the tree would never bear fruit and instructed that the tree should be cut down. Yet his gardener intervened and bought the tree one more year. He committed to give the tree special attention and to do extra work in hopes that the tree would respond with figs.
Just like farmers expect their trees to produce, God expects us to be spiritually healthy, growing and producing fruit. If we fail to do so, we too have an advocate with the Father, a Gardner who negotiates extra time on our behalf. He gives us special attention and waits for us to respond. He is patient and kind, yet we must respond. I see in this parable a demonstration of God’s mercy, but I also see a warning. The owner of the vineyard agreed to give the tree another year, with the understanding that if the tree still failed to bear fruit at the end of the year, the gardener would cut it down.
So where are you on your spiritual journey? Maybe you’re just starting out and will bear much fruit in a short amount of time. Or maybe, like the tree in the story, God’s been checking for fruit year after year, but finding none. I challenge you to take time to evaluate your spiritual health and fruitfulness. If there is no evidence of spiritual fruit in your life, and there hasn’t been for a while, you may be living on borrowed time. Can you identify special attention that your Gardener has been giving you? Maybe He’s placed people in your life that keep reaching out to you, inviting you to participate in small group Bible studies or other church events, but you’re content to just attend Sunday morning, or worse yet, not at all. Maybe your co-worker or new neighbor just happens to be a Christian. Coincidence? Not likely. God reaches out in many different ways, vying for our attention, giving us multiple chances to connect with Him.
If you realize you are on borrowed time, don’t wait to respond to His call. A vibrant, fruitful relationship with God is better than anything else you’ll ever experience. Make the necessary changes needed to grow in your faith and produce the fruit God desires. God promises that if you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you. If you are looking for a great place to start, check out John 15.