Love the word
picture these verses paint.
Luke 13:6-9(NKJV)
6He also spoke this parable: “A
certain man had a fig tree planted
in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
7Then he said to the keeper of his
vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and
find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’
8But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also,
until I dig around it and fertilize it.
9£And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can
cut it down.’”
I can just picture
God as the vineyard keeper. You have
Satan sniffing around, trying to stir up trouble, cast blame, etc. And then you have God who loves us and has a
plan for each and every one of us.
Satan is always
there trying to win us for his kingdom and you have God as the vineyard keeper
intervening on our behalf. "I know
he/she's not living up to his/her potential yet, not fully enjoying the life
and blessings I have planned for him/her but give it a while longer. I just need to dig a little here, promote
some growth there, trim a bit in this spot."
I love how as long
as God sees something there, He is willing to keep investing His efforts in
helping us grow. But look at the last
sentence again.
9£And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”
God as the vineyard
keeper recognizes dead wood for what it is, dead wood! And what does a good vineyard keeper do with
the dead wood? Cleans it out and burns
it. Why?
Because He knows it is necessary for the health of the greater
vineyard. And how does God determine
whether it is dead wood or not? By
whether it bears fruit.
So the question of
the day is are we bearing fruit? Not are
we perfect, winning the whole world to Christ, and rescuing kittens out of
trees all at the same time; but are we bearing fruit in our relationship with
God. As God watches us live day by day
does He have a smile on His face as He trims a little here and waters a little
there because He sees the growth that will lead to bearing fruit? We better hope so because otherwise we are
in danger of appearing to be dead wood.
Well here is the
good news. We don't have to hope so, we
can know so. All you have to do is
accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and then get into God's word
daily. If you'll do those two things I
can guarantee you that you can't help but bear fruit and God will never mistake
you for dead wood!
Usually when I read the parables about the vine, vineyard, and bearing fruit, I take from it that I need to bear fruit and if a vine is not bearing fruit, then cut it off. I liked this one and the way you also focused on how if God sees something there, he will continue to invest his time and effort in helping us grow. I also liked that you incorporated the spiritual battle and how God fights for us.
ReplyDeleteYou helped me see that there's more to it than just cutting off the vine that doesn't bare fruit.
Isn't it just a cool visual. You know I've read that verse so many times in my life but this was the first time Good real it to me this way. That's what makes the daily walk so cool!
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