What You Are Planting

Luke 13:18-21, 6-8

Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches."

Illustrations of the kingdom help us understand the Father's heart. The first tells of the tiny mustard seed that a man tossed out in the garden. Some say he planted it with care; other translations feature the words tossed out. Regardless of whether the seed was cast aside and disregarded or tended with care is not the point. Faith in Christ is never unrewarded according to Matthew 17:20 which compares the mustard seed to a faith germ capable of many things. The devil did not think such a small seed could become a great tree capable of feeding the nations. The text says the birds came and found shelter and food in the branches.

Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough."

The yeast the woman mixed in sixty pounds of flour denotes planning. Christ carefully planned the church. However, a little evil, meaning a little leaven of Luke 12:1, can "leaven the whole lump" in Galatians 5:9. Here we see the contagiousness of evil. The devil's words seen in Genesis 3:4-5 in that garden created the fall of the whole human race. Just as evil spreads throughout everything, so a little faith can be quite contagious. The faith virus is seen in action in Acts 13:49.

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it.

Finally, the fig tree was planted in the garden and tended with care. It bore no fruit for three seasons. The master looked for fruit on this tree and was ready to cut it down. Every tree bearing not fruit would be cast down and thrown into the fire to be burned for it is a bad tree according to Matthew 7:19. By this process, the little fruit is pruned to produce much. The tree used resources meant for other plants yet bore no divine fruit, much like the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24-30. This man was persuaded to give it one more year with careful planning and tending; the reason for the delay was to see if he could produce fruit with some divine assistance. Here, we see agreement on the final outcome. The Father is like the husbandman who gives chances for abundant growth in him for good or for evil. Abiding in Christ, as John 15:4 states, means staying close to him. When you are close, he can produce in your life the fruits of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness," and faith as in Galatians 5:22.