Title: Repent or Perish / Topic: Fruitfulness

Today’s Reading: Genesis 31; Genesis 32; Genesis 33; Luke 13

Scripture: Luke 13:6-9
6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
8 "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'"

Observation: Fruitfulness. It's all about fruitfulness. The man in the story expects this fig tree to grow at least a few figs now and then. Seems reasonable to me. And when the tree doesn't deliver, he says, "Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?" That seems pretty harsh to me. But I guess that's because I understand that while this is a story about a fig tree, the point of the story is not about fig trees at all. It is about people.

Application: The point is that God expects us to produce fruit. He is looking for fruit -- will he find it? I want to have loads of fruit so that the Lord likes coming by. But I don't think I have been as productive as that. I want this year to be a year of fruitfulness. I know that I need to be devoted to fruitfulness. It takes time and work. It takes dedication. I think about growing things. There's cultivating and preparing the soil -- picking the right spot with just the right amount of sunlight. Then selecting and planting the seed -- the proper depth and timing are important. Then there's the waiting and the nurturing. There's weeding and fertilizing and watering (not too much -- not too little). And making sure that the pests stay away. It's a lot of work.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be exceptionally fruitful this year. I am looking forward to looking back at the end of this year and seeing a great deal of accomplishment with Your help. I dedicate myself to this, with Your strength.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.