Giving Up

“Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’

“The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9 NLT)

This parable is a bit scary. God the Father is the owner of the garden, Jesus is the gardener, and we are the fig tree. God is disappointed when we are unproductive and just taking up space. Jesus advocates for us, promising to give us special attention and fertilizer, asking God not to give up on us.

I’m a bit confused. Why would our Father even consider giving up on us?

In order to process this, I have to think about something I gave up on recently. We have boxes full of Christmas lights. Every year we bring them out and plug them in to see which ones work. If even a few lights work on a strand, we use them on the bushes outside. This year I had about 3 strands that didn’t work at all. Not a single bulb lit up. I had been keeping these strands around for the past few years, thinking I might be able to salvage the bulbs for the other strands. However, this year I gave up on them. As I threw them in the trash, I actually felt a sense of loss. If an electrician came up and said, “Let me work on them, I think I can save these strands of light”, I would have eagerly given them another chance.

As I read further past the parable of the unproductive fig tree, I noticed that we never find out what happens to it, whether it starts being fruitful or gets chopped down. I realized this parable is not about whether we have limited time to be fruitful. It is more about the Savior, who will not give up on us.

God’s power flows through us. We are meant to express God’s glory, like strands of light. Over time, a few of our bulbs might burn out, but Jesus is attentive and never gives up on us.