The Committed Gardener

Jesus made extensive use of parables as a teaching strategy. Each parable contained lessons that although separated by 2000 years, still have meaning for us today. The parable of the unfruitful fig tree segues naturally from a conversation surrounding current events. As he converses about some recent tragedies, he directs his audience’s attention away from the natural plain to the eternal. On the eternal plain, all perish without repentance. With this truth as a foundation, Jesus uses the parable to show that the outcome of repentance is a fruitful life. The parable brings out three main points: 1. We are expected to produce fruit. 2. Jesus has given us everything possible to produce fruit. 3. A final deadline is inevitable. As a church, we can support each other to produce fruit by following Jesus’s model of making disciples who make disciples.