In Search of Fruit

“He came in search of fruit.” Luke 13:6

In Luke chapter 13, Jesus tells a story of a man with a garden. For three years, he kept visiting a fig tree in the hopes it will bear fruit, but he was always disappointed. Eventually, he told his gardener, “Cut it down. Not one fig have I found on this tree. We can plant something else in this space!”

The gardener pleaded, “Give it one more chance. I will take special care and give it plenty of fertilizer. If we don’t get figs next year, we will cut it down.” 

Just like the man with a garden, God expects us to bear good fruit with what He has given us. Jesus is the gardener who takes care of each and every one of us. He said in John 17, “I guarded them so that not one was lost...” We can be confident that He who began the good work in us, will bring it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Pope Francis said in his Angelus Message in March 2019, “The fig tree that the master in the parable wants to uproot represents a sterile existence that is incapable of giving, incapable of doing good. It is the symbol of one who lives for himself, sated and calm, enjoying his own comforts, incapable of turning his gaze and his heart to those beside him who find themselves in conditions of suffering, poverty and hardship. This attitude of selfishness and spiritual barrenness is compared to the vinedresser’s great love for the fig tree. He asks the master to wait. He is patient, knows how to wait, and devotes his time and his work to it. He promises the master to take special care of that unfortunate tree.”

When we undergo trials and suffering, that is our gardener, the vinedresser, at work, pruning our decaying leaves and branches. He is making sure we bear fruit for the Kingdom. 

One of the ways we can help Jesus is to repent of our stubbornness and indifference, so that we give Him the freedom to do what He thinks is necessary for our growth and fruitfulness.