And [Jesus] told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9)
Jesus had just finished clearing up that “karma” isn’t a thing, but that those who don’t repent will perish. This continues that thought train with this parable. The man and the vinedresser are God. This may seem a little odd, but remember that the Godhead is Father, Son, and Spirit so a conversation between them is normal. We see this throughout the Bible, from the very beginning when God says, “Let Us make man in our image” or in places like Isaiah when God says, “Who will go for Us, whom shall we send?”
God Seeks Fruit
In this parable, the man came seeking fruit from the fig tree planted in his vineyard. God does all the work of salvation for us and in addition to the justification He provides through Jesus, He does a lifelong work of sanctification in us in which He expects fruit to be produced.
What fruit is He seeking? There are verses that give us insight into that, such as Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Notice this though - The fruit of the Spirit is singularly love. Our English translators didn’t get that grammar wrong when they translated it to “the fruit of the Spirit is” because in the Greek it is indeed a singular verb. Otherwise, it would have been translated “the fruits of the Spirit are”. Yes, there are other attributes that are manifest in that fruit of the Spirit, which are listed in this verse, but the fruit that those attributes are produced from is the singular fruit of love. And remember, God is love (1 John 4:8). Therefore, a true believer who has God the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them will produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is love.
Another form of fruit is found in good works. Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” So while our works have nothing to do with us receiving salvation, it is evidence of our salvation in which we were created in Christ Jesus for. Our fruit is the evidence that our root is firmly grounded in Christ Jesus and God seeks out our fruit.
God is Patient
When the man says, “‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none” we can see the vast patience He has for us. He doesn’t wait a week after we have made an acknowledgement of accepting Christ and then expect juicy fruit to pop up instantly. He gives time for His Spirit to work in our hearts and do the necessary heart work of cutting away the things of our old self and nurturing the new creation we are in Him.
We often can get impatient with ourselves and others as we watch life unfold, but God is patient for a reason. 2 Peter 3 gives us insight into this where it says, “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:3-4,9)
It’s because of God’s will of not wanting anyone to perish but that all would repent and turn to be reconciled to Him that He is patient. God is just and the day of judgment will come eventually, but He is also patient, which is an attribute that we see listed as part of the fruit of the Spirit, which is love. It’s God’s great love for us that yields His patience toward us.
God Provides Growth Opportunities
Notice the response the vinedresser gives here – “Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.” God doesn’t just seek out fruit from us, He is willing and active in helping us grow in order for us to produce fruit. Any good gardener will tell you that manure is an excellent way to help plants grow.
In all reality, manure is poop and being surrounded by it stinks really bad sometimes. God may put someone in a season of digging around them and adding a manure treatment for their good, but the reality of living in a season surrounded by crap is hard. But much like James tells us, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:3-4). The reality is, the fruit that can be produced from a tree that has gone through a season of manure treatment can be ever so fruitful! God has good in mind, even when by the world’s standards it just stinks.
God’s Judgment is Coming
This parable ends with the vinedresser saying that if the care and nurturing and patience doesn’t yield the fruit, that the tree will be cut down. This is the final judgement. Either we have the good soil in our hearts that yield a fruit producing tree, of which we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and submitted to Him in obedience as our Lord, or we don’t. And if we don’t, the coming judgement will cut us off with one fell swoop.
This may seem like a harsh reality, but in light of the patience God demonstrates, in light of the ever so many opportunities He gives for those salvation seeds sown to reap the fruit of righteousness and love, it is the just consequence. This is a call to inspect our own fruit production. Is God reaping fruit from the tree of our life?
Are we tuned in to the Spirit, letting the steadfastness that the testing of our faith is producing to have its full effect in our lives? Or do we push back against God’s attempts to grow us?
Yes, we want to avoid the coming judgement, but there’s also the aspect that we have God, the owner and vinedresser of the vineyard that we’re planted in, who loves us, tends to our needs, and looks after our growth, who is seeking fruit from us. We want that love that He has sown into our hearts to produce an abundant outflow of fruit in our lives because He is worthy of it!
I’ll leave you this week with a question to consider in your own life – Is God reaping the fruit He is seeking in your life?