In the Old Testament, a fruitful tree was often used as a symbol of godly living (Psalm 1:3, Jeremiah 17:7-8). My brother, my sister, here Jesus points out what would happen to the kind of tree that takes valuable time and space in the garden but still does not produce anything for the patient Gardener. We should, therefore, understand that Jesus is warning us that God i…s patient, yes, but He would not tolerate our lack of productivity forever.
Today’s passage says this: “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. 7 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?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
My friend, have you been enjoying God’s special treatment without giving anything in return? If so, do you have a response you would give the Lord if He called you back today and asked you how you had responded to His patient care? The fact is, as Christians, we have to bear the fruit God has created us to produce. The main problem is that, when we don’t allow the Spirit to work God’s will in us, we cannot produce the fruit of Spirit (Galatians 5:22) that can make us productive in the garden God has placed us. You cannot produce the fruit that please the Lord with fleshly efforts… Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.