One of the most powerful, enduring, and universal self-delusions is that there will always be enough time to do the things we want or need to do.  If this demonstrably false delusion is challenged, the usual comeback is that if ever we need more time, we shall just have to “find” it.  An equally absurd expression is that everyone “makes” time for what’s truly important, as though by some mysterious manufacturing process that’s always on call in event of a shortage.

Strangely, these irrational beliefs are seldom questioned, and the magical thinking required to support them is regarded as completely unexceptional—strictly routine.  To examine it too closely is considered bad form.

Yet, the stark reality is that time (at least as we experience it), is a fixed commodity.  Time does, in fact, run out—inexorably and inevitably.  And although we may like to think and act as if the truth were otherwise, we cannot expand time at our whim or convenience, no matter how strong the desire or urgent the need may be.

Time has a way of dwindling at a rate proportional to its enjoyment—if we are having a “good” time, it passes very fast indeed.  If not, time hardly seems to pass at all.  But pass it does.  It is the nature of time to slip away without our notice.  If we accept that our lives are invested with meaning, purpose, and potential, we had best get to work.  The clock is ticking, and according to the Bible, we are being watched.

“He [Jesus] spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.  Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.”  (Luke 13:6-9)

This short story has only two characters, neither of whom is named.  The first, owns a vineyard, in which a fig tree grows.  The fig tree’s presence in the vineyard is not accidental.  It was planted there.  The tree is expected to bear fruit—the owner of the vineyard comes to the tree seeking fruit—but finds none.  It is not the first time this has happened.  The vineyard owner is frustrated with the tree, and shares his annoyance with the second character, the vinedresser.

The owner’s complaint is that for the third season in a row, he has come seeking fruit from the tree, but once again, has found none.  His forbearance has not been rewarded with a harvest, not a single fig.  And his patience is at its end.  Disgusted, the owner orders that the tree be cut down, asking why it should take up space in the soil, since it has not, is not and will not serve its intended purpose. 

It’s a good argument (the vinedresser does not even try to dispute it).  Nor does he suggest that the owner does not have the right to feel as he does or to order the fruitless fruit tree to be felled.  Instead, the vinedresser offers to focus extraordinary personal attention on the tree, in hopes it will respond and at last bear fruit in accordance with its as yet unfulfilled purpose.

Addressing the owner respectfully (as “Lord” of the vineyard), the vinedresser asks that the tree be granted a temporary reprieve—a conditional stay of execution—another whole year in which the vinedresser will till, aerate, fertilize, and water the soil around the fig tree.  The proposition is a simple one.  If the tree bears fruit, a plea for clemency (pardon and forgiveness) will be entered.  If it does not, fine.  Sentence will be carried out, without objection or further delay.

We are not told how the vineyard owner reacted, nor do we learn the ultimate fate of the fig tree.  But we can be sure of one thing—Jesus Christ did not tell this story because He’d developed a sudden interest in horticulture, and was eager to share with the world His new passion for gardening.  So, if that’s not why He told it, why did He?  For that matter, why is it in the Bible?

To answer these questions, we must admit that we have missed something.  There are not two characters in the story, but three—the vineyard owner, the vinedresser, and…the fig tree.  Although the tree does not have any lines, it is an actor in this domestic scene.  Who is the fig tree and or what does it represent?

The fig tree has long been taken to be a symbol of national Israel.  If that is the case here, then we may have a story of prophetic import.  Let us suppose that the vineyard owner is God the Father, the vinedresser who pleads for more time is God the Son, and the fig tree is Israel.

The fruit that the Father seeks is repentance and faith in His Son, Israel’s long-sought Messiah.  Year after year God keeps on looking for fruit, but time after time finds none.  Jesus, the Savior, urges that all expedients be tried before mercy gives way to justice.  These include His personal care and compassion, which He lavished on ancient Israel during His earthly ministry of about three and a half years.

We know how this story ends, at least at the time of Christ’s presentation to national Israel.  Jesus was rejected and with Him, the kingdom He came to offer.  Not coincidentally, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark recount how in the last week of His earthly ministry, Jesus cursed a fig tree from which He sought fruit but, did not find any.  The fig tree suddenly and shockingly withered—a powerful metaphor with clear meaning for Israel’s short-term future.  God is merciful, however, and according to the Scriptures, is not finished with her. Her eventual salvation and glory are secure.

Can the same be said of you?  What if the lesson in this parable has personal application for you as an individual?  If the God of the universe were to visit, seeking fruit in your own life, would He find any?  Or would He come away empty and frustrated, season after season, His patience worn thin and threadbare?  

Would He wonder aloud why you are not fulfilling your purpose, but merely taking up space in His vineyard?  Might it occur to Him that you are absorbing labor and nutrients that, used elsewhere, might yield a return on His investment?  Would He wait forever for you to respond or might He conclude that too much time has been wasted already?  What if He were to shout, “Enough!  Cut down the unproductive tree!”

This is not a story about how one can please God by the works of his own hands.  That is not possible and is not the basis of our salvation.  But, this is an illustration and a warning of what can happen when a person hardens his heart and blows God off time and again or procrastinates once too often to answer His call to repent and believe the Gospel.

The good news is that God loves you more deeply and fully than you can imagine.  For the time being, Jesus, the Vinedresser is still willing to allow you more grace, yet another chance to live the fruitful life He longs for you to enjoy.  He yearns for all people to turn from empty and unproductive pursuit of selfishness and sin.  He hates to see them trading their all for the world’s false promises, exhausting themselves chasing the wind, and experiencing nothing but futility, disillusionment, disappointment, and despair.

 Jesus urges you not to delay, kidding yourself that there is plenty of time to come to Him for the pardon He purchased for you with His own blood.  The truth is that: “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” (Matthew 3:10, Luke 3:9).  The owner of the vineyard may once again inspect His property at any moment.  Don’t let Him catch you fruitless when He comes!

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words, and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can change you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams, and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  (Romans 10:9-10)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31) 
• “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)