[Darris McNeely] God walks in His vineyard. What does He see? There's a parable in Luke chapter 13, called the parable of the barren fig tree. It's an interesting parable when you stop and consider it and what it says. Let's begin in verse 6. "He spoke this parable: 'A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the keeper of his vineyard, "Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?" But he answered'" – the keeper of the vineyard – "'and he said to him, "Sir, let it alone this year til I dig it around and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down"'" (Luke 13:6-9).

Cutting down a tree – cutting down a fruit tree, a fig tree, any type of tree that doesn't produce the fruit it's supposed to – is a very serious matter. What Jesus is taking about here in this context is the subject of repentance and change. And it's a rather stark picture here. The idea that giving an order to cut down a fig tree – I've had to cut down fig  – not fig trees, but fruit trees in my property in the past that just were not producing any longer. And you look at it, you wonder what could I have done? What could have been done differently? Is there any hope here? And sometimes you have to come to realize that you just got to cut it down because it's taking up space, it's taking up ground, and something else could be put there that will produce and you have to come to a point where you, in a sense, move on.

And I think Jesus is saying this here, when it comes to our lives and our purpose, we are supposed to produce. We are to produce fruit. We are to be useful – we're taking up a place, we're taking up a position. And God is very merciful. God is very compassionate in His working with us. But as this particular parable shows, repentance and change is necessary to bear the fruit that is important. And Christ here kind of plays the role of the owner of the vineyard and the keeper of the vineyard – kind of a dual role in this particular parable. And He shows that dual nature – being compassionate and patient, but at the same time, there will be judgment.

And so, there's a warning here, in that fig tree is given one more year to be worked with, pruned, fertilized, and to hopefully produce. God does that with us. And to read something like this is to cause us to put it down, stand back for a moment, think about our life – and recognize change is possible, with God's help and with God's direction. But God also expects us to change and we must do that because the God we serve is not only patient and kind, but He's also a God of judgment.

And so, as this parable shows, God walks through His vineyard – He walks through our life, He observes us – and as in the case of this fig tree, the question can be put to us, as God walks in our lives and walks with us – what does He see? Are we producing that fruit? It's a lesson for us all to consider and to ask ourselves.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.