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 13:7
It goes without saying that it is important that fruit trees produce fruit. I remember the apple orchard on my parents’ farm when I was a child, how there were wonderful large trees that bore huge quantities of apples. Some of those trees were very important to us as providers of our winter’s supply of apples. Others produced short-season apples that made wonderful eating or cooking apples. But each year, there were always a few trees that failed to produce well. Some produced none, especially those that showed signs of disease or weakness. Sadly, those trees, after missing a couple of years of production, would become firewood. My father also liked to use apple wood as a source of sawdust to burn in his smoker. We enjoyed the fish and meat that came from the smoker, but it always seemed a bit sad to me that the output from the smoker came at the expense of the orchard. Not only was there some better use for the ground the trees grew on, but there was better use for the trees themselves. How many of us Christians are cumbering the ground instead of producing fruit for God? How long will he leave us cumbering before finding some better use for His ground?
We use this verse most often in the Gospel, to point out how God’s patience with those who reject and neglect the Gospel are in danger of abandonment. And it is true that the goodness of God is directed at bringing sinners to repentance. The Holy Spirit works with the lost, seeking to bring life so that there may be fruit. But the verse is equally apt for those of us who are in God’s orchard, who have been recipients of divine life. Does that divine life result in much that brings glory to God? Can we honestly say that God gets much return for all that He has invested in us? We need to be aware that He wants us to be fruitful for our own benefit as well as for His glory.
When God looks at you today, what does He find that causes Him to be glad that you are occupying space in His orchard? -Jim MacIntosh