“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Taken from Luke 13:6-9, this parable is something so familiar to me that I don’t take time to think about its meaning anymore. What we hear over and over again, we tend to take for granted.
What I always focus on in this parable is the man who ordered the vinedresser to cut down the fig tree because it did not bear fruit. I always thought he represented God, who expects us to be good witnesses, to spread His word and to bring others to Him (to bear fruit). And He is not pleased when we fail to do so, then He’d rather “cut” us down.
But after listening to a priest’s homily one Sunday, I read again the verses and this time, focused on the last half of the parable – that of the vinedresser. He requested the owner of the fig tree to give the tree one more chance—one more year for maybe by then it might bear fruit.
The key word is “chance.” This time I realized that God is the vinedresser, too. He always gives us a chance and even sends us blessings when we don’t expect it.
Our God can be capable of giving us a lesson when we forget that His will should be done. But He is also a God full of mercy and compassion that if we plead and ask for forgiveness, He gives us the chance!
So stop complaining. Don’t drown yourself in self-pity because of your misery, that sometimes come one after the other. It’s a trite expression but I’m going to say it just the same: “There’s hope.”
God is hope….He is full of hope, mercy and compassion.
When the going gets tough, take the journey. No matter how rough the road may be, there is our God who travels with us. He expects us to lean on Him during these times, to stop thinking we can solve our problems on our own and instead call on Him.
And should we fall or divert from the journey, no worries. He will not “cut” us down right away. He gives us another chance! He will use events, people and even the trial itself to turn us around and, “Voila!” When we least expect it, the blessings will come.
I beg to disagree with the saying that there are “blessings in disguise.” Blessings are blessings. They can’t be disguised or hidden behind anything. God’s blessings are always there—for our taking. It’s just that we don’t recognize them. We are so engrossed with what we like, what we want and what we dream of.
If we just always remember to keep in step with God, the problems will be easier to handle because God will lead us through the twists and turns of life, taking some of the load from us so we can bear life’s trials. And, happily, find solutions for them.
“And you saw how the LORD your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now He has brought you to this place” (Deut 1:31).
We just have to acknowledge that God is with us for the journey. Like a travelling partner, we must not ignore Him. We engage and talk with Him. We feel His presence and trust that He will protect us all the way.
Up to now, I still get teary-eyed remembering how after my husband died in 1996, I was able to raise three children on my own. What if God did not give me another chance to live life? What if He did not take the journey with me? I dread thinking where my family might have ended up.
Never mind if they’re all grownups and carving their own lives now. My journey today is different from those years when I had to struggle as sole provider for the family and when I wept from frustration whenever I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel most of the time.
My journey today is still that of a mother whose role now is to encourage her children to allow God to take the journey with them.
I continue to take the journey, no matter how different the route is now, with Him—seeking wisdom to better guide my children and to pray that they, too, live with God’s will in mind always.
And when they stray or fall into a situation that separates them from God, I will remember to show mercy and compassion and give them another chance just as God would have done with me, too.
I continue to take the journey even as I know that I am still a solo parent. I know better not to quit because God doesn’t quit.
He is the vinedresser who’d give us another chance, picks us up when we fall and be the crutch to lean on so we can stand and walk through our trials.
God is a God of second chances. So, no turning back. Take Him on your journey.