Fertilize

Luke 13:6-9 (NIV)

⁶Then 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.

⁷So 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.

⁹If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "

Jesus loves to tell stories about agriculture. Farming. Dirt, seeds, vines, trees, fruit. People can identify, especially in his time.

Today, in our culture, not very many of us are involved in food production.

But any good gardener or farmer, whose survival was dependent on the food that he or she could grow, wouldn't have a lot of patience for perpetual non-producers.

The common sense equation is really simple. "If it won't make figs, cut it down. We can grow something else in that soil."

Where's the grace in this parable?

Fertilizer and time. The gardener makes an appeal to the owner. "Give me time, and I'll fertilize."

What if our lives work in just that same way?

Fertilizer is pretty base stuff, after all. Manure, rotten vegetation, composted food scraps. That's the stuff of fertilizer.

When we face challenges, we usually fail to see any redeeming value.

Too little money or time, broken hearts, grief, conflict. What if those things were the fertilizers of grace that God uses to bring spiritual fruit into our lives?

Knowing this parable, and living out the story, could make all the difference in what happens next.

Grace & Peace,

Adam

A song about how the fertilizer of life can work for us, if we'll let it. Happy weekend everybody, see you at SOTH this Sunday, 9:30 & 11:00.