Gardening B - 7
Sometimes, we humans can feel frustration. We can feel like we are spinning our wheels, going in circles and at a fast pace yet never noticed. Some of us can feel that our lives are meaningless, bearing little or no fruit.
Then 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 tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up all the soil?
“Sir,” the man (Jesus) 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 I’ll cut it down.”
Luke 13:6-9 (NIV)
One of Satan’s frequent lies to us is that we are permanently hopeless, like a dead tree in the forest. We have come to believe that we have no hope for the future, because we have handled the past so poorly. If that is you sometimes, know that Jesus wanted to obliterate that thought once and for all time!
Rather, he assures us that He will give special attention to us, the kind we have never received before. What we thought about ourselves, and that it was sealed for eternity, is to be completely destroyed! Instead, He sees us like a gardener would see a patch of beautifully blooming multi-colored flowers, eye-candy to be sure. Flowers that are drought resistant, temperature variation resistant, and with a long flowering season!
1) Does this tree remind you of yourself?
2) Does a gardener usually work in the public spotlight, or is much of the work done quietly, away from the public’s eye?
3) Do you see Jesus as someone wanting to work “one more year” in your life, or do you sometimes feel that He has, or could easily, give up on you?
4) In those days, might a gardener (Jesus) come in every day to check on things?
5) Many gardeners have a “secret recipe” or two for different plants. A gardener must know what should be made available, when to give it to the tree, how much of it, etc. And also, with watering each plant. What might you suggest to Jesus as a plan just for you?
6) Might the gardener (Jesus) consider his job just as a job, or might he have had a passion for gardening and would like to be nowhere else but in the garden?
7) Do you think the gardener (Jesus) was optimistic and hopeful, or ready to give up?
8) Why do you think the gardener (Jesus) mentioned “a year”, rather than three months, or six months?
9) Do you believe Jesus would put in a day’s work in his garden on you, yes you?
10) How productive and nurturing would a healthy tree be in its seeds?
11) What fruit would He love to see in us? In the Book to the Galatians, we read that the fruit of the Spirit encompasses: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Which of these is in greatest need in your life?
All of us need to invite the Master Gardener into our hearts, minds and spirits every day! He'll show up! Every day. With personalized care with exactly what you need! With the kind of attention you thought would never be possible.