Jesus told the parable of a man who had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. The fig tree had not borne figs for three years and so the man ordered the gardener to cut it down. “Why,” the man asked, “should the tree use up the soil?” The gardener pleads for the tree. The gardener says he will dig around the tree and fertilize it. If it bears fruit the next year, fine! If not, then even he agrees it should be cut down.
The parable invites us to ask: Are our lives bearing fruit or are we just taking up space in the vineyard? The sin of the fig tree wasn’t that it was doing something bad. It wasn’t doing anything at all.
Lent is the season of letting Jesus dig around in our lives; maybe even throw a little fertilizer on us. Welcome the pruning!
Growing in faith,
Pastor Melanie