Maturation, Or Depletion?

"For the house of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies,

the men of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight.

He waited for mishpat (justice), but look what he got – mishpakh (disobedience)!

He waited for tsÿdaqah (fairness), but look what he got – tsa’qah (cries from the oppressed)!" (Isaiah 5:7)

So he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘Behold, for three years now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down! Why indeed should it continue to deplete the soil?’ (Luke 13:7) 

In this past weekend's English-language services, Pastor Richie brought up extremely important points about the parable of the fig tree in the vineyard. Our reflection for today will focus on arboriculture (caring for trees) and viticulture (caring for vineyards), in light of our pastor's observations, that will help us to have a clearer understanding of what Jesus is saying to us.

1. Why is there a fig tree in the vineyard?

Pastor Richie shared with us that God, in His love for us, has taken us and planted us in the place where we can receive the best care: His vineyard. Vineyards are places where careful attention is paid to the growing process, particularly the quality of the soil. As Christians, we are saved not just to stay in spiritual infancy, but to grow into maturity in the faith. (see Hebrews 5:13- 6:3). So, even though we do not "belong" there, God nonetheless plants us in great places. We are the tree among grapes, under the watchful eye of the Owner. He makes sure we receive the best He has to offer so that we might grow up in Him. Do we recognize how God has blessed us?

2. What do we make of the owner's three years of looking for fruit on the fig tree?

Our pastor's first key point, "The people are in God's sight", is not simply a cause for elation. It is also a call to responsibility. God watches over us, protects us, and cares for us. But He also expects to see spiritual growth and development-- so He is looking. Pastor Richie said, and I paraphrase, "God calls us to move from doing the bare minimum to doing the maximum." The bare minimum is leaves; the maximum is fruit. Fruit is the evidence of productive growth. The crisis of the fig tree was that, though it had grown, it had not produced.

This brings up another critically important point. The owner looked for fruit on the fig tree for three years, but the tree was over three years old. Fig trees grow for two to four years before they begin to bear fruit. So, in the case of our parable, we can estimate that the owner's complaint was made of a tree he had carefully cultivated, every day, for a minimum of five to seven years. There should have been fruit. God, our Owner, has cared for us every day. When He looks at us, what does He find?

3. Why "one more year"?

"But the worker answered him, ‘Sir, leave it alone this year too, until I dig around it and put fertilizer on it. Then if it bears fruit next year, fine, but if not, you can cut it down.’" (Luke 13:8-9) Jesus, our Savior, is the One who makes intercession for us, and we are the recipients of His mercy. He has, prophetically speaking, given us an extra year even though we have demonstrated many years of not responding to His care. But in the "fourth year", we experience crisis that is designed to lead to productive growth. Pastor Richie shared with us that the natural disasters we have experienced over the past two weeks are a reason for us to reflect on where we stand with God. God wants us to respond to His care with complete loyalty and obedience. Our pastor said, and I quote, "We need to lead the world in unrivaled devotion. No competing things." Do our lives demonstrate devotion to Christ, or to ourselves?

4. What about the grapes?

In Jesus's parable the owner says, with urgency, "Cut it down! Why should (the fig tree) continue to deplete the soil?" When soil depletion occurs, it does not just affect the fig tree; it affects the entire vineyard. Depleted soil leads to a crop of grapes with reduced taste quality, inadequate growth, and lost vitamins and minerals in the fruit. This is why the unproductive fig tree cannot be allowed to remain as an ornamental arbor: while it is feeding itself (without producing), it is also gradually destroying the vineyard.

In the Isaiah passage at the top of today's post, I included the Hebrew words so we can see how God indicated His displeasure at what ancient Israel was doing. God says, I asked you for something and gave you the specific word concerning what I wanted. Instead, you tossed Me some counterfeit word that sounded similar but held a baser meaning, and you chose to do what you wanted to do. Why should I permit you to make My whole vineyard produce sour grapes?

Praise God, Jesus our Intercessor has spoken up for us. Our gracious God has given us the "fourth year", 2012, in which He has urged Bronx Bethany to engage instant and constant prayer. Let us submit to His digging and fertilizing. Let us produce the fruit He is looking for: fruits of repentance (Matthew 3:8), so that we might live and His kingdom might advance in full strength and power.