Good Morning Friends,
“Jesus told this parable: ‘A man had a fig
tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not
find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years
now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any.
Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it
alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears
fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.”’” (Luke 13:6-9)
Which of the two men in this parable – the owner
and the caretaker – displays more of the character of God? The answer is
obvious – it is the caretaker.
The owner is impatient. He has waited three
years and has not received any return on his investment. For him, patience ran
out and it was time to do away with the unfruitful plant.
The caretaker demonstrates an abundance of
patience. He, too, had waited three years to see the vine produce fruit and his
efforts had been wasted. In fact, he is the one who had put in the work on the
plant. He had the most invested. Still, he was patient. He didn’t want to give just
the amount of time that was expected. He wanted to go above and beyond with
patience. He was willing to put in more than the expected labor in order to see
the plant flourish.
God demonstrates patience like the caretaker.
He is the one who puts in the work to produce fruit in our lives. He has the
most invested. Still, he is patient. He doesn’t want to just put in the expected
amount of effort to see our lives change. He goes above and beyond with
patience.
Even the caretaker’s patience had a limit. He
was willing to invest one more year of work and waiting. By the end of the next
year his patience would run out.
God’s patience also has a limit. He’ll put in
far more than is expected in an effort to see change in our lives. But a time
comes when His patience will finally run out.
His, by Grace, Steve
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