Do you remember, as a young person or a child, people asking you what you wanted to be when you grew up? I do. It was a common thing to try to open up a conversation with a child. As a child, I dreamed big; most kids do. Boys usually want to be sports stars, astronauts, or adventure heroes. Girls want to be teachers, singers, and, yes, sometimes professional athletes. As we get older, reality sets in, and we understand that we have skills that God has given us for certain things, and they usually do not align with wide-eyed, childish dreams. However, God has expectations of all those who have become His children through the acceptance of His Son as their Lord and Savior.
One passage that brings our purpose into focus is Luke 13:6-9. He is speaking a parable about a fig tree to the people of Jerusalem. The story is a warning to the nation of Israel about judgment to come, but also to us today.
He starts in verse 6, discussing a man who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard. To me, this is a strange place to plant a fig tree, but it is in the middle of the vineyard in the story. The owner expects fruit from the tree each time he visits it. The keeper of the vineyard had been watering, pruning, and checking the tree for three long years. The owner arrives and instructs the keeper of the vineyard to cut it down. The vine dresser asks for one more year to see if he can get it to produce. In verse 7, the word “cumber” means to render it barren or sterile. It was not only useless in producing anything for the Master, but it was also preventing growth to the vines around it. It used the nutrients and water around it to survive and thrive, but the existence of the tree was of no benefit to anyone else.
So, how do we apply this parable in today’s world? This tree had the potential to grow and produce fruit, but it lived solely for itself. We are never to be focused on our own desires, but rather on what God wants. He has a plan for each of us, and if we follow it, He will take care of us. In Luke 12:22-24, Jesus teaches His disciples not to focus on the things of this world, but to focus on following His plan, and He will provide for them.
Luke 12:22-24 “And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?”
It is not enough for us to attend church, wear the right clothes, be law-abiding citizens, pay our bills, donate to local charities, or help out a neighbor. We are to bear fruit that is fit for the master to use for His glory. We were forgiven by God not just so we can go to Heaven when we die, but to be busy winning others to Him. We should be helping to grow the population of Heaven. Once we win people to Him, we are to disciple them. Help them grow so that they, too, can bear fruit. We should be so thankful for God’s forgiveness that our faith overflows all around us.
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God provides a “vine-dresser” for us. We have the Holy Spirit who dwells within us to guide us to produce fruit. Through the written word, we receive instructions on how to please God. If we intend to produce fruit that is useful, we must follow His instructions.
The owner of the vineyard is God. He is the owner of us also. He expects fruitfulness in us. The fig tree represents Israel as a nation, but today it applies to us as individuals who claim to be God’s servants but fail to produce spiritual fruit. Jesus is the vinedresser, and just as the vinedresser intercedes for the tree to spare it one more year, Jesus intercedes for us to bear fruit before judgment comes. God is patient and merciful. He has extended us multiple opportunities before He sends Jesus to gather His children, but that patience is not forever.
The time is coming, and no one but God knows when it will be. We, too, have been planted in the middle of the vineyard to bear fruit. We do not live in isolation, but in the midst of a sinful world. This is God’s design. Now is the time to decide what you want to be. You have two choices. A faithful servant producing fruit or a slothful servant who is worthless to the Master. For me, I want to be a faithful, productive servant sowing seeds of salvation that bear much fruit for the Master. While I fall short of being everything I could be, my goal is to press forward so I can please the Master. What about you? The only one keeping you from being a fruitful Christian is you!
Luke 13:6-9 “He spake also this parable; 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? And he answering said unto him, 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.”
