Luke 13:6-9 NKJV

6He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ ”

Jesus Christ is the speaker here. If I were to translate this to today, this is what I believe this looks like:

The “certain man” is God, and the fig tree is the church, and the vineyard is the kingdom of God. And the fruit is the result or the outgrowth of our faith in Jesus Christ. This is revealed via true repentance, which is a change of heart and mind away from sin, to God, in obedience to his commands, resulting in a change of behavior. And this is shown by our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in doing what he has called us to do in living holy lives, pleasing to him, and in putting sin to death in our lives, by the Spirit.

And for God to not find any fruit on this tree got me to thinking more about who this tree represents. For it is a singular tree in his vineyard, so it doesn’t represent the entire vineyard, which is the kingdom of God. It isn’t that God’s entire kingdom is not bearing fruit in keeping with repentance, but that one specific part of it is. So this would represent those who have professed faith in Jesus Christ, at least with their lips, but who have not yet born fruit (results) in keeping with repentance (death to sin; living to God).

And who is the keeper of the vineyard? Well, when we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, the Holy Spirit is given to us to live within us and to guide and direct us in the ways of the Lord, and to teach us all things pertaining to our Lord and to his teachings. He is our counselor, our guide, our encourager, the one who leads us in the ways of righteousness and who counsels us in the ways that we should go. And he convicts of sin. So perhaps he is the keeper of the vineyard, but still he is God the Spirit.

And he is the only one I can imagine would be pleading with God the Father for more time for the tree to bear fruit, which has not yet produced the fruit that God intends for his true church to produce. And he is God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – living within us, helping us to bear that fruit if we are truly in Christ by faith in him, and if we will cooperate with God in his work of grace in our lives in training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives (Titus 2:11-14).

So this tree would represent all who have made professions of faith in Jesus Christ but who have not yet born the fruit (the results) which must be evident in our lives if we are to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. So this would be kind of like how the church in Laodicea is described for us in Revelation 3:14-22, neither on fire for the Lord nor totally opposed to Jesus Christ, but lukewarm. And so Jesus is knocking at the door of their hearts, and he is calling to them to let him inside and to be in fellowship with him, which means we must die to sin and obey God and his commands.

And when I look at what is going on in the world all around me, and when I see the spiritual decline which has taken place within most of the church here in the USA, where I live, I find myself pleading with the Lord for more time for many of my loved ones to turn their hearts over to Christ in true repentance, in surrender to his will, in walks of obedience to his commands, before God judges my nation and many people are taken quickly from this earth and are given no more opportunities to surrender to the Lord.

For time is not on our side. The fulfillments of the prophesies of the Scriptures with regard to the last days are being fulfilled before our eyes on a daily basis, and it keeps getting worse and worse. And we can’t miss the signs all around us if truly we are spiritually alert to what is happening. But if you are part of that tree which is not yet bearing fruit, which is in danger of being cut down and thrown away, I pray your eyes will be opened to the truth and that you will repent and obey God before it is too late.

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Are You Bearing Fruit?
An Original Work / May 14, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love