Luke 13:6-13: a reflection

6He spoke this parable. “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7He said to the vine dresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and found none. Cut it down! Why does it waste the soil?’ 8He answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it down.’” 10He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day. 11Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years. She was bent over and could in no way straighten herself up. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” 13He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and glorified God.

Jesus tells of a fig tree that has borne no fruit for three years. The owner is ready to cut it down, but the vinedresser pleads for it: Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on fertilizer; then if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down. It is a picture of God's patience: another year of grace, another chance to bear fruit, accompanied not just by patience but by extra care, digging and feeding, to help the tree become fruitful.

Notice two things in the vinedresser's plea. First, the patience: another year is granted, a reprieve, more time for the tree to bear fruit. And second, the care: the vinedresser does not merely wait, he digs around the tree and fertilizes it, actively working to help it become fruitful. God's patience is not mere indifference; it comes with active care to make us fruitful. But notice also the limit: the reprieve is for a season, with the expectation of fruit.

That parable speaks to us as those God has planted and expects to bear fruit. Perhaps you have been unfruitful, and God, in his patience, has granted you time and care, another season, tending you, to help you bear fruit. His patience is a gift, but it is not endless; it comes with the call to actually bear the fruit he seeks. Do not presume on the reprieve; use the season of God's patience and care to become fruitful. He has dug around you and fed you; respond by bearing the fruit for which he has been so patient. The extra year is grace; do not waste it.

Lord, the vinedresser pleaded for the barren fig tree, asking for one more year, and promised not just patience but care, to dig around it and feed it, so that it might bear fruit. Thank you for your patience with me, and for the care with which you tend me to make me fruitful. But help me not to presume on that patience, which is real but not endless. I have been planted and am meant to bear fruit; you have given me time and tended me. Help me use the season of your patience and care to actually become fruitful, responding to your grace by bearing the fruit you seek. The extra year is a gift; do not let me waste it, but make me fruitful for you.