Key Verse: He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and
he who looks after his master will be honored.
Proverbs 27:18
We have here three main characters: a master, who acquired
the tree in hopes of eventually enjoying its fruit, a servant, who looks to the
tree to reflect his care and attention, and lastly, the tree itself. The master has the
right to expect his investment to pay off. The servant, who has obviously put
much effort into the tree, would also like to see fruit. The servant's interest
is not only to show his own talent in gardening, but because he wants to please
his master. Both the servant and the master are dependent upon the tree to do
what it was designed to do.
Their little parable is an interesting way for Jesus to
finish off His exhortation to, "repent or perish." God is the Master. He had a purpose for you
before you were even born. (Jeremiah
1:5 & Psalm
139:16) He planted you on this earth to fulfill that purpose. He checks on
you to see if you are on or off track and He cares very much about the outcome.
Jesus is the care taker. He loves you and tends to you. He
has sacrificed for you and He longs to see you succeed in your mission. When
God is disappointed, Jesus still pleads for you, "Give another chance,
Father! Let Me care even more and see
what We get."
Then there is us, the tree in the vineyard. Unlike the tree,
we have a will. We can choose to serve and obey or not. The fig tree may not be
able to help it if it doesn't bear fruit, but we can. That is why Jesus uses
the parable of this fig tree to illustrate His point, "if we don't repent,
we will perish."
It is true that the Lord is patient and long suffering,
usually way beyond anything that we could imagine as a human being. To be
honest, there have been times when I myself have longed for God to stop being
patient and deal with those who have caused me pain. Unfortunately, my prayers,
of this sort, are selfish and short sighted, not taking into account the full picture
of redemption. However, the truth is, there will be an end. Jesus spoke of
judgment and an end in His parables about the Kingdom in Matthew 13. The history of Israel includes the exile, in which God said,
"enough." We do not have forever to decide to get around to obeying
Him and fulfilling His purpose for us on this earth. He is watching and He does
care, and you have a decision to make. "Repent, or perish." It's as
simple as that.
Hymn: "Softly and Tenderly"
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