Parable

The Parable of the Fig Tree

Sometimes the most important season of your life is the one where nothing seems to be growing.

In Luke chapter 13, Jesus tells a short story that hits differently the older you get.

"A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?"— Luke 13:6–7

Three years. No fruit. Cut it down.

It sounds harsh. But the gardener — the one who has actually been kneeling in the dirt next to that tree — pleads for it:

"Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down."— Luke 13:8–9

Give it one more year. Let me dig around it. Let me feed it. Let me work the soil. Then we'll see.

There are seasons in our lives — sometimes long ones — where we don't seem to be bearing any fruit. The marriage is hard. The job is dry. The prayers feel one-way. The kid is lost. The faith is faint. And it's tempting to say cut it down. Move on. This tree is finished.

But the Gardener is patient.

He knows what's happening underground that we can't see. He's digging. He's feeding. He's loosening soil that's been compacted for years. And He's whispering to the Father, "give it one more year."

Maybe you're in a fig tree season right now. Maybe someone you love is. Don't cut it down. The fruit may be one quiet, gardener-tended year away.

The forever business is patient business. ♥