Greetings Dear Reader,
My Grandfather had a fig tree in his
yard. It was tall enough for shade and
he had an iron bench under it. We could
sit in the shade and look past his driveway to his vast garden. Each year we enjoyed excellent figs from it
every year. This is the place where I
would often ask him the profound questions that pop up in a child’s mind.
He had preached that
Sunday about the fig tree that Jesus cursed and it withered. Whilst sitting in the shade, sipping my
Grandmother’s sweet tea, I asked, “How do you curse a fig tree?” He laughed and leaned into me the way he did
when he really wanted me to listen.
“First,” he began in
his serious loving tone, “I would take it poorly were you to curse my fig
tree. More important, next Sunday I will
be teaching about the other fig tree.”
With that, he began to explain the story of the fig tree that no one
talks about. That story is in the Gospel
of Luke.
Luke 13: 6 And
He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which
had been planted in his vineyard; he came looking for fruit on it and did
not find any. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper,
‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without
finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ 8 And
he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig
around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit
next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”
My Grandfather went
on to explain that the owner of the fig tree was right that the tree should be
producing for him. The vineyard keeper
was wise to ask for more time to give better attention to the tree. It speaks to the idea of giving us time to
grow. It resonates with our commands to
love and care for others.
We are quick to
judge and condemn but I wonder if the failure to produce good is a check engine
light for us. It goes both ways. I must allow others the time, grace, and care
the Father needs to transform them back to his image. I must further make sure that I am not
running around cursing fig trees without giving them that time.
That tree was there
to give us shade and rest because my Grandfather had given it time and
care. His labor of love for a tree had
given us a place of peace where we would watch lightning bugs, discuss blue
jays and mocking birds, dream about the fish we wanted to catch, discuss the
fortunes of the Atlanta Braves, and remember life lessons from Jesus.
It is the humans
that are the fig trees. We see them using
up space and the check engine light comes on so we judge and reject. We are going to be amazed at what they can
become if we give them care, time, and opportunity to become better. Cursing others will only further hate and
destruction. No human is a waste of
space. No curse is necessary when following
Christ. Let us agree, Dear Reader, to
give everyone a chance to grow.
Their failure to be where we think they should be is a check engine
light for us rather than a condemnation of them.
Wishing you joy in the journey,
Aramis Thorn
Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every
writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a
homeowner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure
store.”
(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Every human story is part of the great story that leads
to the Father getting everything back to Good.
Contacts for Aramis
Thorn:
#aramisthorn
Support Page on
Patreon: www.patreon.com/aramisthorn
Web Page: www.aramisthorn.com
Bookings: aramisthorn@aramisthorn.com
BLOG Archive: http://aramisthorn.blogspot.com/
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment