Growing Hope

Luke 13:7-9 – And he said to the vinedresser, "Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?" And he answered him, "Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down." (ESV)

Life in the garden is always on the move, seen and unseen. Animals lie dormant and then wake up, seeds are sown and come to life, and caterpillars change into butterflies and deposit their eggs. Meanwhile, a text message tells me that a member of our church has arrived safely home from the hospital, having given birth to a lovely, healthy girl. Mum and dad have become parents for the first time. Life is always on the move towards its intended outcome.

Earlier this year, I visited the local mart that sells plants, trees, and flowers, and I found a pear tree that was marked down at a third of its original price. It looked totally dead, hence the discount. I love a good bargain, so, along with a healthy-looking apple tree, I thought that I would save it from destruction, as its relatively low cost was worth a risk. Akin to the advice in today's passage, I dug a hole in a well-watered part of the garden and added some plant food pellets as it was planted.

For several days, I visited the pear tree to see if there were any signs of life, to which the answer was none. Consequently, I cut the top of the solitary upward spike. If there were to be any hope of life, the auxins (plant growth hormones), which had failed to promote growth at the apex, would be stimulated and redirected into the numerous brown nodules further down the stem. I decided to call in the Vinedresser in this matter, and I prayed for Jesus to bring life into this small fruit tree.

Now some weeks later in the warmer weather, I can see more than a dozen bundles of green leaves, up to half an inch long, shooting out on the stem. Amazing. Hallelujah!

Sometimes out of our dead and dormant hearts, God calls us to ask Him to bring life. Unseen to the world, Jesus is calling us to pray for ourselves, our children, and those for whom we feel led, as we meet them, because Jesus is in the practice of bringing new life where there seems to be no hope. He takes us on into eternity within His kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, in the midst of all the gloom, despair, poverty, and war, in contrast, may we pray for Your life to show forth for Your kingdom in us and onward through us to those around us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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About the author:

Rod Marshall <roderickhenrymarshall@gmail.com>
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
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