Chapel Blog
Dig Deeper
“6 Then Jesus 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.’”
I’ve got two mango trees, an avocado tree, and a bunch of coconut trees in my yard. One of my mango trees did not bear fruit this year, but I’m not worried, because I pruned it back at the end of last season. I expect to get a “bumper crop” of mangoes next year after it has time to heal and regrow. Fruit trees are supposed to have fruit on them. If I had a mango tree in my yard that never produced mangoes it would be clear something was wrong, and action would need to be taken.
Jesus tells this parable about a tree that isn’t producing fruit. The gardener asks for more time to care for the tree, hoping that with a little more root work, the tree will produce. He says, “Let me dig around it and give it some fertilizer and then give it one more year.” But, in the end, both the gardener and the master agree, if the tree doesn’t bear fruit, it’s gotta go. Jesus is stating that just like a fruit tree is supposed to bear fruit, we are supposed to bear fruit too. But this means God intends that we live our lives according to the purpose that He defines for us.
The world teaches us that we can define ourselves, choose our own paths and define what it means to be successful, and that when we do, we will find love, joy, peace and all the other good things that life has to offer. Which is true? Well, don’t settle for the surface level answer, dig deeper and check the fruit.
If you can’t find peace but are crippled by anxiety, if you are short-tempered and dismissive of others, if joy is elusive, i.e. if you don’t have fruit, then perhaps Jesus is on to something. What would you lose if you took some time to prune some bad things from your life, and seek God through His word; what would you lose if you dug a little deeper and fertilized your faith?
Have you submitted your life to Jesus, so He can give you a new heart and set you free from sin? Then there will be fruit in your life revealing the presence of the Holy Spirit. That fruit is described in Galatians 5:22-23 and includes character traits like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-discipline. Are these present and growing in your life?
Just like the gardener who realizes that the tree needed some care and extra nourishment, perhaps we should take some time to nourish our soul with the life-giving truth of the word of God.
Westminster Christian School, located in Palmetto Bay, Florida, is a private, college-preparatory school for children from preschool through twelfth grade.