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Luke Chapter 13 is the focus of our attention this week and in particular, verses 1-9. Please read them every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 13:6-9 (NIV)
‘Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig-tree, planted 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 round it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”’
Recently, during Allen’s 70th birthday celebration, Allen’s son James gave a wonderful tribute to his dad. He mentioned the importance of having such a great role model and stated that his dad would ‘never give up’. He would never quit on anything or regard anything as too hard to accomplish. This exceptional quality has more than rubbed off on James and he’s definitely following in his dad’s footsteps.
Thinking about this led to me to consider if there is something that could be regarded as ‘a lost cause’. In school, I saw a few students, who like me, were certainly not academically brilliant. By some complete mistake, I was put into a top ‘banding’ for mathematics. Once there I managed to fail every exam and regularly missed homework deadlines. My grades were very poor and yet for some reason my teacher kept me in that top class. Many could have considered me as a lost cause but when it came to the final examination at ‘O’ level, I passed with flying colours! It was the first maths exam I’d ever passed and the faith that the teacher had placed in me, finally paid off. I know for a fact that other maths teachers wanted to put me in a lower class, but perhaps this one teacher had invested so much time in me that he didn’t want that effort to go to waste.
Our verses today are full of meaning, they are thought-provoking and intensely challenging. We have discussed most of the previous verses this week and today we’re concentrating on the last part. The owner seems to be frustrated and disappointed that the tree wasn’t bearing fruit and orders the gardener to ‘cut it down’.
The gardener appears to be quite upset and disturbed by the owner’s words. Perhaps, just like my maths teacher, this man had spent three long years tending to this tree, cultivating it and ‘coaxing’ it to be all that is meant to be. The thought of cutting it down seems to be too much to take and the implication is that the tree isn’t a lost cause.
He speaks up and asks the master for more time to work on the tree. He asks permission to dig around the tree, breaking up the earth to the sun and rain, and asks if can apply fertiliser to the soil. The next phrase translated as it is here doesn’t give the full picture. It seems that the gardener is quite emotional and cannot finish the sentence. He says “If it bears fruit…” and then pauses, as if to regain some control over his emotions before continuing “But if not, you may cut it down.” There is no word ‘Fine’ in the original. There is just the pause.
Anyone who has been involved in pastoral ministry knows how difficult it can be at times. In some cases, years and years of ministry have been sowed into the lives of loved ones. The thought of them being ‘cut down’ is too hurtful to consider and we would do all we can to give them ‘one more chance’. We are not told the end of this story. We don’t’ know if the tree started bearing fruit or if it was cut down. What we do know is that God wants us to be fruitful. For some, perhaps the lesson is that we need, once more, to allow God’s servants to ‘fertilise the soil’ around us. Don’t delay. God has promised blessing when we live our lives according to His will and purpose. Seek Him while He may be found.
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