Watch Your Environment

 

And he told this parable: “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) The purpose of a fig tree is to produce figs. The purpose of a human life is to produce fruit. Those who are living right display the fruits of the spirit. They do not need to pretend these characteristics exist. They just flow from them because they believe and obey God. If a fig tree does not produce fruit, we need to adjust its environment, for it is the environment that allows the tree to produce. Likewise, if I do not produce the fruits of the Spirit in my life, I need to adjust my environment to make sure I am absorbing the things that would actually produce fruit. Evangelicals often label those who adjust environment as legalistic, when in reality, those who do so are the wise ones among us.

Learn More at Relate365.com