I love that verse that says Gods mercies are new every morning and that God is FAITHFUL (Lamentations 3:22-23). Mondays remind me of that and the restart of another week. I don’t know about you but I really need that. Successes and failures over the weekend come to the forefront of my mind as I try to make sense of life, ministry and future. Long gone are the days when Franklin Covey could just wrap everything up in a day’s agenda. Handsome hubby told me about something he had heard this week, “diversity is not God’s agenda, it’s His nature.” Man that is loaded with possibilities. It got me pondering, how many things do we do out of agenda versus God’s nature? Do our calendars or hearts reflect that?
The scripture for this week’s blog is Luke 15. There’s this crazy strange story about a fig tree that is planted in a grape vineyard. I’m afraid Sesame Street has impacted my theology more than I realized. “One of these things is NOT like the other.” Who plants figs in a vineyard? Someone that likes variety, owner’s option. So the guys in the story dialogue about this out of place tree that is just not producing. The obvious and quick answer is CUT IT DOWN. This is the same type of tree that covered Adam and Eve when they were cut off from the garden. Same tree that will shade a man named Nathanial. A tight budget and a yard that needs weeding may have brought my attention to this verse because greenery is expensive. Jesus, master recycler, tree hugger and teacher suggests something else – get some manure. Wow, He can redeem anything! That’s some crazy manure right there. It’s used to warm things up and decrease acidity – making the conditions better for fruit production. So they are challenged to give it a year and then see what kind of fruit comes from it. A year, are you serious? Is it the soils fault? The gardeners fault? The food or nurture ?
Manure is the solution. “Hey, Donkey, you just got promoted and this Jesus guy increased your value significantly.” Talking about using what’s near you! Nothing fancy, just dung.
The manure fix came from the one who scooped dirt and blew breath into creating the first human being. Give it nutrients, water, love and manure. It’s not in God’s nature to give up without first trying EVERYTHING possible to redeem –including His own son. Jesus, the One who can redeem anything and anyone is giving a wonderful visual that manure is useful for growth. Give it a try – warm things up and lower the acidity and watch it blossom. This little fig tree, obviously belonging to the owner of the vineyard and significantly out of place in its environment , has potential to thrive.
The one who came from Heaven would understand going the extra mile.
He did not waste resources but called for them to do right by this living thing. What a wonderful creator, still caring about creation. I feel a tug to water my plants and myself right now. Jesus suggested packing this barren fig tree with manure and giving it grace for over a year, that’s the long haul. How careful He was with life. Isaiah would also say of this same Messiah, “a bruised reed He would not break.”
The disciples knew Jesus as a carpenter but now He’s giving them potting lessons? “Holy Toga!” Next He’ll be telling us how to fish! What’s with this guy? I don’t think He went to Essene State University, He went to that “other” school maybe. Why is He teaching us about fertilizing or watering plants when He’s supposed to be teaching us lessons about the Kingdom? Are you sure He’s the One? Doesn’t He know we’re here for His Leadership course? This down to earth lesson just isn’t that deep to us. What experience does this guy have anyway?” I would love to say Jesus gave a fig about that vineyard and everything in it, but that would detract from the message.
Most people skip the first part of the story because in our western city mouse world we don’t often garden. It is critical to understand the next section. No one likes to get their hands dirty or discuss manure too much. We’re a hand sanitizing generation. It’s easy to keep ones hands clean if we never plant anything (applies to the spiritual also). The highlighted “branch” of this chapter is the woman who is bent over. She’s bowed down low. She has an encounter with this garden happy Savior and everything changes. Her support, the lifter of her head has now come! (Lift your neck up, woo woo, lift your hands up). We are only told she straightens up but I’m thinking there must have been a happy dance when she realized there was more to life than just the pavement! Reading this years later we rejoice and wear her shoes but again, our carnal nature distances us from the bad guys in the story and we immediately race to how we would champion the woman. Slow down…. Hear the bad guys because we also need to identify with them. The program, tradition, service has been interrupted in the synagogue. How uncouth. This guy is not one of “us” and he has not come up thru the system as “we” have so therefore he must be “other”, “them” or anti-authority. He just doesn’t understand our protocol, tacky. We can’t see what the Kingdom of God IS if we don’t recognize what the Kingdom of God isn’t. Does this woman think today is all about her? Is she an attention hog manipulating the situation?
She’s just standing there crumpled, needing support.
But like that barren fig tree Jesus knows just what type of support and comfort she needs, regardless of all the “religion and religious people” around her. All these theological gyrations aren’t a thought in her mind. He steps in and shows them how God cares for His daughter in spite of the agenda going on around them. Another gem from hubby this weekend as we prepared for church was this – “bring your prayer requests to Jesus and the altar until they turn into praises.” (I love it when He waters me with things that have watered him).
How many times do we ask for prayer? Well, it’s been said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We had a sweet older spiritual mother in our church who used to ask for prayer for her family every Sunday. It did not matter if it was a holiday, baptism or revival – she brought them all up in prayer. I used to just think it was her being quirky. She didn’t go with the flow of things; she created the flow of things. She trained this preacher woman that the service wasn’t about my agenda but God’s digging, fertilizing, watering and pruning His plants. Over the years I noticed her family regularly getting healed and blessed. That wise saint knew how to press in and persevere. She spread lots of glory, love and honor all around the roots of her family tree and now there is a vast forest she could thank God for in her prayer time.
Our family has been listening to a really good preacher talk for several months now on God setting things straight in our lives and those we reach out to. He’s doing just that in us. Oh that the holy chiropractor would come and rub out all the spiritually arthritic places in our hearts and souls! I love this visual of Jesus bending the woman’s back, back into place – so she could rest and see Him and others aright. Jesus wants to set all things straight according to His reign. Double back and consider that again – God’s kingdom agenda is to let God set things straight and aright, yielding rest to His creation. We make room for GOD to do that.
Don’t you just love Jesus today? He’s careful with the little, He’s careful to redeem and recycle, He’s careful to make things straight…. I’m not like that yet, but I want to be. We’re all in these stories – good and bad guys on any given day. That’s why we need the Bible, each other and lots of grace!
Maybe that’s why repentance is based on God and not on us.
These blogs are meant to inspire discussion, connect with others that want to live Biblically and share hope. The purpose is to go deeper in the subject of Rest and Peace. What are modern day Ox and Donkeys? Do we let our cars rest and fill them with oil? Do we bless those who help us work during the week or just cut them down or replace them? It’s interesting to think of modern day Oxen and Donkeys. Pots are replaceable and Razors are disposable but living things should not be. How do we care for and bless those who give us the ability to work harder and smarter during the week? Do we at least weekly water/bless them? Straightening and healing are fundamental things the Kingdom is about and Kingdom work should equate to rest for the weary. Disclaimer: I have not talked to anyone’s’ mechanic, secretary, spouse or plant. Just reading and processing the text. It makes me curious though, if we paid more attention to that or those who serve or need mercy, would there be less time to judge those trying to straighten and heal?
Those of you reading this that lived during the post depression era understand the value of reusing a tea bag and recycling things. Those of you who are poor understand the value of salvaging what you cannot afford to just replace. Those of you who work in leadership know the benefits of low turnover. Those of you who understand mercy, realize all of these are seen in the Christ. God’s in the people recycle business and His goal is to redeem ALL things.
Caring, straightening, watering are all signatures of God bringing rest to His body. “Quick and easy” to “get er done” is not part of that system. We must dig deeper and pour in God’s healing grace. It takes His work to bring rest to God’s creation. This whole passage is convicting. Changing a culture takes time, changing a Body so it is straight does also. How do we steward people? How do we steward rest? How do we work to glorify God who loves even the littlest plant or seed? While the seasons change, He is watching over every living thing, He is Heaven bent on straightening every crooked path or person, His eye is still on the sparrow and the smallest hair on our heads, regardless of what the bad or good guys are doing.
I’m going to go find my mustard seeds and see what God wants me to plant and care for this week. I’ll do my part and trust that God will do His. I also have some things to water, oil and make straight. I want Heavens agenda and to learn how to walk in God’s Kingdom.
How about you?
RenaeRoche 2018