A Man Who Planted a Fig Tree

Jesus once told a parable we would do well to learn from.
In it He used a tree as a picture of what we are to become.

There was a man who planted a fig tree, but it failed to produce fruit.
He approached his farmhand and said, “Should we not, this thing, uproot?”

The man then told the landowner, “Sir, for one more year let it alone.
I’ll dig around and add manure, then perhaps fruit will be grown.

But if after doing this, the tree still does not produce,
Then you can cut it down and put the land to better use.”

A tree that should bear fruit, and indeed does fulfill its purpose,
Will be tended to and nurtured unto more and greater service.

But the tree that remains barren, on which fruit is never found,
Will one day be removed; it shall be chopped down to the ground.

Once a fruitless tree is cut down, what do you suppose is done with the wood?
It becomes dead and dried, then is cut and carried where the fireplace is stood.

But the tree that bears much fruit, is a delight to its master.
It is cherished, highly prized and its branches spread out ever vaster.

So, in this we see there are, for us, two possibilities.
To live and bear fruit, we must put to death our sinful proclivities.

Though we all have sinned, and from the Source of life been severed,
Through faith in the Lord Jesus we can once again to Him be tethered.

Though in our sin we are dead wood, Jesus will impart unto us life.
He’ll pour in us living water, and with fruit our branches will be rife.

He doesn’t desire to cut us down, for this reason He fell in our place.
Come to Him Whose heart with love abounds, and accept His gift of grace.