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. – Luke 13:6-9
After reading this parable multiple times, I kept coming back to verse 8 where the servant says, And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it.
It reminded me of a young lady with whom I used to work. On her desk, she had a tiny, little plant in a small, ceramic container no bigger than my hand. The plant grew straight up out of the container like grass. One day, she came over to my desk by the window and asked if she could put the plant in the sun each day to see if it would grow. It belonged to her roommate, and she just could not bring herself to get rid of it. If this plant was mine, I would have just thrown it away! She thought some sunlight and a little attention would help, so I told her she could put it in my window. Every morning, like clockwork, she brought it over to my work area, and in less than a week, this little plant began sprouting up, showing some life! It was interesting to see that because she gave it a little water and sunlight, and didn’t give up on it, that plant grew and flourished!
I think I am a lot more like the man who owned the vineyard. I lose my patience with plants. I cannot seem to keep them alive for longer than a few weeks at a time. Once I even had my daughter, who is excellent with plants, come over to help me purchase some plants for my back patio. We spent a whole afternoon planting them in beautiful pots and placing them in the most strategic spots in my backyard. I was so excited to have my patio looking so nice with colorful flowers and even strawberries! Ever so carefully, I watered them per my daughter’s instructions, making sure they also got plenty of sun. However, despite all of my efforts, all of my flowers died, and my strawberries shriveled up in just a couple months! No one need think too hard to guess what I did: I gave up on them. I look at my patio now and lament at how sad and dry everything looks. However, every single year I buy more flowers, and I try again!
As I wrote this, God put a thought in my mind about the young people in our church or new Christians in general. It makes my heart happy to see young people excited about serving the Lord! I love to see them growing in their faith each and every week and attending all the services or youth activities. As I watch them, I take for granted that they are just going to keep coming and being faithful to God with their lives. However, that does not always happen. These excited young people or new Christians sometimes lose their zeal for serving the Lord and even stop coming to church. Then, we may find ourselves sitting back in our pews, wondering what happened to them, and thinking, “Well, they must have not really meant it when they said they felt called to serve the Lord. Look at them! They’re not worth the time and prayer we put into them.”
Shame on us for even thinking such things! We must consider that maybe all they needed was a kind word of encouragement, like, “So proud of you for taking a stand,” or “Love watching you participate in teen choir,” or “Keep using your talent for the Lord. Love to see you play the violin in the orchestra.” There are plenty of worldly people out there encouraging them to use their talents for the devil. It would not hurt for us to be a little more forthcoming with our praise and encouragement to guide them in the right direction towards the Lord.
I can imagine that God must get frustrated with us at times. Day after day and year after year, we live our lives serving Him when we “have time,” but often, we are not bearing enough fruit to really make any difference in this world. Yet, instead of losing His patience with us and cutting us down, God realizes that we just need a little more care, a little more prodding with the Word of God, and a little more nurturing by other Christians. We soon begin to bear the fruit He expects us to bear. Do not be discouraged: it takes some Christians longer than others to bear fruit. When we are patient with them in the way God is patient with us, we will be amazed at the transformation that takes place!
Who do you know that needs to be carried over to the window and put into the sunshine of encouragement? Who needs a little extra water of praise and kindness? Is there someone you should be encouraging along the way in their Christian walk, or are you ready to give up on them and throw them away? In our flourishing family of God, let us all look for ways to encourage each other today!
By April Hernandez