One More Chance
Wednesday November 6, 2013
Jesus told a lovely story of a man who planted a vineyard and cared for it for 3 years. You would expect that after three years he would find fruit right? But none was found. What should be done?
Jesus said: Unless you turn away from your sins, you will all die too. Then Jesus told a story. “A man had a fig tree,” he said. “It had been planted in his vineyard. When he went to look for fruit on it, he didn’t find any. So he went to the man who took care of the vineyard. He said, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree. But I haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year. I’ll dig around it and feed it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'" Luke 13:5-9 (NIRV)
This story illustrates how God is kind and generous with us. God gives us many opportunities to grow and produce a good harvest in our lives. We are taught good lessons in school, in church, in community groups. We see role models in honourable people around the world who serve and give of themselves. Yet, sometimes we can make personal choices that reflect selfishness or bitterness at something gone wrong. We can focus on having a good time rather than developing a good character. We are stubborn and arrogant and don’t produce a good harvest of kindness and peace in our relationships with others.
God works with us and reminds us and offers us opportunities to do better and still we persist in our self-centered ways. God invites us to change, to repent, and to follow His good way. God is patient and He gives us more chances than we deserve, more chances than others around us give us. But, there is a clear warning in this story that there is a day of reckoning. There is a time when opportunity runs out.
God works with us and reminds us and offers us opportunities to do better and still we persist in our self-centered ways. God invites us to change, to repent, and to follow His good way. God is patient and He gives us more chances than we deserve, more chances than others around us give us. But, there is a clear warning in this story that there is a day of reckoning. There is a time when opportunity runs out.
Today, God reminds us that the season of not bearing good fruit needs to come to an end. We must repent – turn away from planting bad seeds and start planting good seeds. We must give God our hearts every day so he can plant patience and kindness and goodness in us – enough for us and enough for us to give away to others.
Let’s respond today to God and His kindness and let Him put good seeds into our hearts.
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