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Fruit not Foliage (Luke 13:6-9)
It is increasingly popular for Christians to
believe in Universalism in one form or another; the belief that God
will not allow any to perish but will save everyone at last. Certainly
most of us can identify with the sentiment as we consider those we love
and their eternal prospects. The trouble is that word 'sentiment'. I
sometimes hear people talk about the 'afterlife' in terms such as, "Well,
I like to think that we will all be together again…". Or, "I can't abide
the thought that those I love won't be with me in heaven and I am sure
God will not want us to be apart." Once a discussion of eternal things
begins to turn on how I feel, or the sentiments that shape my thoughts
in more wistful moments, then I know I am on shaky ground.
This parable follows directly on from the clear teaching of Jesus to those
around him that, "Unless you repent, you too will
perish" (v.5) The problem people have is
that we all have our own idea of what is just and right. Basically, people
we consider like us deserve to be given every latitude while those who
are not like us we easily judge and find wanting. We call this justice…
God looks at things differently. The parable has a fundamental application
to Israel who God set apart and planted in his vineyard but who proved
so faithless. However, it has another application to all of us who name
the name of Jesus. If you are a Christian today then:
1) God has taken you for his own and has gone to great expense to plant
you in his vineyard, to cultivate and nourish you. Unlike the wild figs,
you are not left to stand or fall in your own strength, subject to the
vagaries of life and nature. You are 'in Christ' the one who loved the
Church and died for it, planted in good and fertile soil, fed and nourished
by God's word and Spirit. Grafted into the vine, you are called to abide
in and get your nourishment freely from him.
2) God himself comes to look for fruit from those he plants and nourishes
in his vineyard. Note two things: 1] God himself comes and looks for
fruit. He doesn't send others but comes himself to those who enjoy the
privilege of the gospel. So often we concern ourselves with what others
think of our performance but God is not indifferent to our lives but
expects fruit from those he plants in his vineyard. 2] God expects fruit
but finds none! His disappointment is not in finding little fruit
but in finding not one fig on the tree he has planted and nourished.
Had he found one fig what a difference this would have made. But God
isn't looking for leaves that give the appearance of healthy growth,
and he is not looking for blossoms that show early promise, but he seeks
fruit that shows the true health of the tree planted.
3) God visited his vineyard for three years looking for fruit. He is
not hasty in judging us but shows great patience and gives us time to
bear fruit, encouraging and nurturing us.
4) When he finally calls for the one who dresses the vineyard (Christ)
to cut down the tree he is answered, "Leave
it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilise it.
If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down."
We should remember that we have one who intercedes for us. God calls
this Grace…
5) However, even the one who intercedes admits judgement at last, recognising
that the tree that, at last, proves fruitless must, at last, be cut
down. This is what the Bible calls God's righteous judgement…
The challenge for us is to appreciate what God has done for us who are
in Christ; realise that he has called us to bear fruit not hide in foliage;
and trust in the one who bought us so dearly and expect to be fruitful
(count yourself dead to sin and alive to God) for his greater glory.