ARE YOU BEARING GOOD FRUIT?

"He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none." (Luke 13:6)

Jesus used parables to teach important lessons about how the kingdom of God operates. The God of love, mercy and compassion is also a God of knowledge, discernment and judgment. In this parable, the Lord opens our eyes to God’s expectations for us and His attitude to productivity.

The owner of the vineyard represents God. The owner of the vineyard is the one who planted the fig tree in the first place. He is also the one who came looking for fruit from the tree. God designed us with excellent care. Into each life, He has carefully invested unique gifts and strengths to enable us to function as beneficial citizens of the world. In addition to that, He also plants us in places where we can use our gifts to bless others.

When God invests His treasure in our lives, He expects to reap results. He comes to the place where He planted us to see whether we are bearing fruit or just existing and complaining about the challenges confronting us.

The next few verses show us God’s attitude to the unfruitful fig tree. When the owner of the fig tree saw that there was no fruit on the tree, his attitude was firm and uncompromising: ‘cut it down’, he said, ‘why does it use up the ground?’ Those are harsh words, but they reveal the heart of God to us. When the Lord invests His gifts in us, He will come to evaluate what we have done with what He gave us. If the Lord finds that we have been fruitful with what He gave us, He compliments us and adds more to us. If, on the other hand, He sees that we have been unproductive with what He has given us, He will sanction us and take His investments from us.

This year, as we focus on fruitfulness, let us be mindful of all the resources that the Lord has invested in us. Let us bear good fruit for the Lord.