In the last issue of the Courier, I began looking at the parable of the fig tree (Luke 13:1-9). It is one of the most powerful passages in all the word of God.
Frank PageI talked about the fact that the fig tree was placed in a purposeful location, but it failed to bring forth a purpose for which it had been planted. I talked about the fact that we, too, face the same possible failure. God has great hopes for us, yet we have failed so many times.
What are the results of such failure? The first obvious result is uselessness. This fruitless tree was a thing of no use. And that is the tragic truth about so many folks, both in the church and out of it. They are guilty of no vicious or outrageous wrongdoing. They do not violate the law. They are just utterly and absolutely useless. They stand with the call of great needs ringing in their ears and never seem to hear.
What a tragic loss, both to the individual and to the group. I am convinced that perhaps the most appalling waste that afflicts us today is the complacent moral and spiritual uselessness of so many decent and capable people.
And this waste is a sin. To Jesus, the crime of crimes is to be merely useless. He says as much in his parables of judgment. Every disaster that is visited is the result not of some wrong thing done, but of some right thing left undone.
The five foolish bridesmaids had the door shut in their faces, not because they had become unclean, but because they had no oil. The man of one talent was flung upon the pile of worthless things, not because he had squandered his talent, but because he had refused to invest it. This fig tree was ordered cut down, not because it was bearing fruit that was poisonous, but because it was bearing no fruit at all. The man out of whom the unclean spirit had been cast entered into slavery sevenfold worse than the one from which he had been set free. This was the case, not because he had deliberately reached forth his hand to the unclean. It was true because his hands were empty. His sin was the sin of uselessness.
What are you doing? What good is there in the church, or in the city, or in the world that owes its existence to you? What is there of value here that simply could not be here at all but for you? What contribution are you making? There was a time you dreamed of usefulness.
This tree was not only useless. It was a hindrance. It was in the way. “Why should it use up the soil?” was the question of the owner. Since it did not give an account of itself in terms of fruit, it was a parasite. It was absorbing the sunshine and the rain. It was receiving the properties of the soil, the attention and care of the vine dresser, and giving absolutely nothing in return. To bear no fruit, therefore, is not only to be useless. It is to be a menace.
We all know of many church members who live in constant neglect of their privileges and obligations.
As a denomination, I am convinced that we, too, have squandered opportunities. For several months, I have been talking about the need for a relevant, biblically based methodology to share the timeless message of Christ. Honestly, I have received criticism for this. It seems that in our world today when one talks about relevance, some people want to ascribe to it compromise or modernism. Some people truly believe that any attempt to relate to our culture is contrary to Christ’s desires.
I could not disagree more. I am convinced that if we do not begin to seek a biblically based relevance, we will become the useless – even worthless – fig tree in this parable.
We also need to see the reality of judgment and grace. The final result of fruitlessness is that it invites disaster. “Cut it down” are the words we hear.
Because fruitlessness does not result in immediate destruction, some are led to believe that no such results will ever follow. The fact that the penalty is not visited at once is due to the mercy of God. “Let it alone this year also,” pleads the vine dresser. The fact that we have been spared in spite of our uselessness does not mean that this law that is inevitable has forgotten to operate. It only means that God is doing his loving best to bring us to our possibilities. Let us not be blinded by his very mercies, as we too often are. Jesus himself has stepped in, giving us the second chance we so desperately need.
How, then, shall we escape this threefold tragedy – the tragedy of uselessness, the tragedy of being a menace and the tragedy of ultimate destruction? The way of escape is indicated by the plain words of Jesus: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” By repentance, Jesus means more than our being convicted of sin. He means more than our being sorry for sin. The repentance that Jesus is requiring means a turning from barrenness to fruitfulness.
There is more involved in this, of course, than feverish activity on our part. Certainly the first step toward usefulness is rightness with God. It is absolutely essential to be our best if we would do our best.
Everyone who looks back and conscientiously evaluates his or her performance must admit that there have been great periods of time when we were not very productive as fig trees in the vineyard of God. We have not brought forth the fruit that would be pleasing to God or of which we could be properly proud.
While some opportunities may have flown into the past and are impossible to recall, we can rejoice in the fact that we do have the present and some portion of the future.
Please join me in a prayer that God will give us another opportunity.