Waiting, for figs

 This week's verses are Luke 13:6-9:

Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the worker who tended the vineyard, ‘For three years now, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and each time I inspect it I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue to deplete the soil?’ 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, very well, but if not, you can cut it down.’”

 These verses are interesting, because the time it takes a fig tree to mature to where it can bear fruit is said to be about three years. So, is the man in the parable a typical "pointy-haired boss" who asks for things without knowing how they work, or is he a justifiably impatient lord who has waited twice as long as is reasonable for something he has asked for? Maybe we can learn from both.

The first guy is justifiably naïve. The first time you have to wait for something, you don't always know how long is a reasonable time to wait. He's like the kid who plants flowers with his mother and is genuinely confused a week later when there are no flowers on the tiny plant. I've seen this in adults too, with city people I've known who buy fruit tree saplings and are confused that there are no fruit after the first year. ("But there's a picture of an apple on the tag! How can this be? There must be something wrong with this tree. Is it too late to take it back?")

But imagine this was your boss. Do you tell him "of course not, you idiot, you know that fig trees take three years minimum, right?" It's a good way to get fired! Maybe you like your job. So instead, you find a way to let him save face. "You're right boss, this tree seems to be a little slower than most. But usually those trees grow the best fruit. Let me give it a little TLC and I think next year you'll be surprised. Otherwise, next year, sure, we'll get rid of it and try again."

So in this case, the parable is about impatience. Maybe we're impatient for the kingdom of God to be manifest on Earth. We keep checking, and there's no peace, no end to suffering, no signs and wonders in the heavens. So, like the man in the parable, we want to throw this whole Christianity thing out. Because we've put in our three years and nothing is happening.

But sometimes we have to wait longer than we expected when we made our first commitment to something. We don't always know how long is a reasonable amount of time to wait. So Jesus is the expert here, saying "wait a bit longer."

But what about the man who has waited too long? The man in the second example would have waited more than a reasonable amount of time, if he'd waited six years for fruit on a "three years minimum" tree. It's beyond patient. Anyone who knew trees would have justifiably assumed the tree was not going to bear fruit. At that point, time is money. You cut your losses and you get another tree.

So imagine that was your boss. How confident would you have to be in the tree's chances to ask him to wait another year? The gardener here wants to give the tree every possible chance to bear fruit, so he volunteers to give it the full treatment. He is putting his career on the line.

So in this case, the parable is about hope, grace, and repentance. The gardener is like Jesus, making the case for grace for the lost cause tree. The tree is given a second chance, under the condition that it changes and bears some fruit. The gardener, like Jesus, gives the tree what it will need to do the right thing. But it's still up to the tree whether to make figs or just to pop out lots of leaves and be like "Look at all this fertilizer! I'm rich!"

That context should put the fear of God into us. Imagine our salvation was just a kind of "snooze button" for the judgment of God, and if we didn't make any improvements we would be chopped down. That's terrifying! So in that case, Jesus is the gardener saying "Look, I just saved you. Accept my gift and do what I say, and you will live."

So are we impatient where we shouldn't be? Or is God patient where he shouldn't be? Maybe it's both. If the tree is not us, we can and should be more patient. There are seasons and forces at work in the world around us that we can't possibly understand.

But if the tree is us, it is important to understand that our time is short. The ax is at the foot of the tree. Do we spend our fertilizer on becoming bigger or on bearing the fruit we're meant to bear?

You know which message is for you. Take it, like fertilizer, and meditate on it this week. Maybe this is the season for change.