A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 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.' (Luke 13:6-9, ESV)
It's amazing to reflect on how easy it is for me to see the potential in others, but then how quickly I tend to give up on myself. When talking through a dry season with a friend, I can so clearly see how God is working in them to will and act according to His good purpose; but when processing through my own dry season, I lose sight of any progress and can quickly sink into a sort of spiritual apathy.
I can't expect to be growing and able to produce much fruit if I'm not taking in the necessary nutrients! Much like the vinedresser from the parable above, I have to tend to the soil first with the faith that the fruit will come. Lack of fruit is the sign that something is wrong, but what is the appropriate response to that sign?
In times of spiritual apathy the easy choice is to focus on my lack of fruit (the lack of joy, the lack of caring, the lack of any wisdom to give to others in my life, etc.) and by so doing to let that discouragement drive me deeper into apathy, eventually leading to an ever-increasing cycle of despair, apathy, discouragement, and depression. I need the reminder to 'tend to my soil,' as it were: to fill my soul and spirit by spending time with my Gardener. My job is not to try and create something from nothing by striving to produce fruit without fertilized soil; my job is to take in the nutrients from my Father, Gardener, and Friend. He is the One who created healthy trees to naturally produce good fruit, and He is the One who will work in my life to bring 'good fruit' in my life. He is my Source. If I am connected to Him, the dry season will pass, the apathy will lift, and the fruit will come.
Is this to say that I have no responsibility in the process? By no means! I do have a responsibility! But if I try to produce fruit, I'm in essence taking glory from God because I'm claiming that I can do what He does of my own strength. Yes, Jesus tells His followers that "by their fruit" you can distinguish good teachers from bad. But He doesn't say "by their fruit you will recognize them, so worry about the fruit you bear." He says "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. [...] Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:1, 5, ESV) The command is to "abide in me," 'find your nutrients in Me, let Me fill your soil with good things.' I am to be intentional about 'tending the soil' and making sure it is full of good things rather than letting it fill up with unhealthy, contentious things. Where does my mind drift when I don't have anything to occupy it? What thoughts or feelings am I entertaining? Am I choosing to devote my mental and emotional energy to things that are of God, or am I letting my sinful desires creep in and take up residence? Am I seeking nutrients, or am I seeking to produce my own fruit? My own fruit will inevitably sour and rot. The fruit that God produces in me will last. May I be a tree that naturally produces God-glorifying fruit.
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