Thought: Everyone and everything has a purpose to fulfill. What is yours? around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down’” NIV Luke 13: 8-9.
The word is that God is very patient; but God will not tolerate forever a lack of productivity. Jesus said fruitlessness invites disapproval, displeasure, and destruction. Therefore, we need to repent and amend our ways. The parable of the fig tree emphasizes this essential point.
Jesus told a story about a man who planted a fig tree. After three years, the normal time for bearing, the man realized that the plant was utilizing valuable time, space, and nutrients, without producing fruit. The landowner instructed the gardener to fell it immediately. The gardener asked for the tree to be given another chance. He recommended that he be allowed to dig around it and dung it, and said that if it still failed to produce, the landowner could then down it (see Luke 13: 8-9 in KJV).
Consider the term “dung it”, or as the NIV renders it, “fertilize it”. Oh, yes! I recall getting cow dung (manure, fertilizer) for my godmother’s flowers, and they were the talk of the community, for sure. They were beautiful!
Like plants, we humans also need to fertilize various aspects of our lives if we want them to bear fruit. Our family relationships can be fertilized by us being loving towards each other, being kind, caring, considerate, and concerned for each family member. Parents and children can fertilize their relationships with confidence and openness. We fertilize a marriage relationship by being loving, honest, caring, mutually respectful, thoughtful, understanding, responsible, and trustworthy.
Our relationship with God should be fertilized by reading and studying the Bible, praying, fellowshipping, and worshiping with other believers, testifying about God’s love for us in Jesus, and putting God first in our lives. Members of the Body of Christ should fertilize the Church by making their contributions of time, talent, and treasure, to the life and witness of the Church.
Then again, we must be careful what fertilizer we are applying to persons and situations. One young lady was heard saying: “I will never read in this church again!” Why that outburst? She had been asked to read the Bible and had made a few mistakes, and an adult spoke some unkind words to her. So, think about it! If suspicion, distrust, malice, jealousy, greed, envy, harsh criticism, favouritism, and selfishness are used to fertilize any person or relationship, the product will be unpleasant.
The gardener in the parable was of the view that a little fertilizer would have been sufficient. How about you? Is there a relationship, person, or situation that needs to be fertilized by you? What fertilizer do you need to be your best? Jesus can supply your needs.
Thought: Everyone and everything has a purpose to fulfil. What is yours?
Prayer: God, our Creator, we are fearfully and wonderfully made by
you for your glory. Come into my heart and help me to be the
best that I can be. Fertilize my mind with wisdom, compassion,
love, and the peace that passeth all understanding, so that I can produce and help others to produce according to your will. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.