To all those who have NEVER asked Jesus to be your Savior, guess what?
He worked you into one of His parables. Yes, you.
You are in His parable of the fig tree to get ONE YEAR of special cultivation and fertilization.
Luke 13:6-9 And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. V. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper, “Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?” v. 8 And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; v. 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not cut it down.’” New American Stand Bible
You are that fig tree. In the parable, God is giving you ONE YEAR of His special attention.
Remember that trip or that beautiful vacation filled with its sunsets and sunrises over the desert, mountains, beaches and waterfalls? Those were personal snapshots sent by God to “dig” around you to cause you to say, “God who made that, I would like to know the One who made those places.”
Or, when you saw that new born baby, remember how you thought, “Wow. What a little miracle. Just 9 months ago, he/she didn’t exist.” Now, those little fingers are holding mine. Did God program us or wire us to know Him? Wish we knew.
Or, when that “saint” at work used to talk to you about God, was she right? Did you miss your cue when she urged you to know her Savior?
When Grandmother or that young person died, you wondered for days what death would be like. Would you be ready like they seemed to be? Their hands used to shower, do computer and 100 other things like you do. You knew that you were no exception. Death would find you, too—one day. Am you ready to face your Maker?
Your Maker? Does He care about you? Is the story about Jesus true? If not, who does know TRUTH?
If Jesus is TRUTH or the true way, how does a person get in on His program?
Some religious [Christian] people say that “knowing Jesus” starts with a prayer, [setting aside your own agenda for a little] believing that He is alive and able to hear us. Something in you wants to believe that. You could trust a resurrected good Lord. He should know about death, having been through it. He surely did a good job out-smarting His critics. In fact, everything about Him is admirable.
And the account of His crucifixion is unbelievable with heroism. He did it willfully for others’ benefit in mind. Amazing. I couldn’t do that, could you?
Yes, the fig tree experiences pruning to keep it from just taking up space and not being what it was designed to be and do.
Unbeknownst to you, Someone was “digging” around you, waiting to hear your voice speak out to Him, “God, please let me know You. If you are real, let me know you.”
Speak out to Him today. Great adventure awaits you. I can speak from experience.
Since God has set a limit of time for your voice to be heard, don’t let that time elapse without your miracle happening.
Sample prayer: Lord in heaven, don’t let me live and die without knowing You. Today I put aside all known sin against You. Make me your child today, right now. Show me how to live for You. I’ll try to obey You the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name.
Amen
Welcome to the family of God, fig tree.