In the moment that you declare out loud that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you are saved! (Romans 10:9) That one moment alters your eternal destination, but it should also alter your whole life! It is true that God wants us to come to him just as we are, but that does not mean he intends to let us stay that way. God wants us to become more and more like his Son and our time on earth will be spent in the potter’s hands being formed into his image. (Jeremiah 18) Jesus wants to see fruit in the lives of the redeemed!
“A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, “I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden’.” – Luke 13:6-7
I can see a clear parallel between this parable and the life of a believer. We are the fig tree, planted in the garden at the moment we become saved. We are planted so that we can grow and produce fruit. Jesus is the gardener and he keeps checking on us to see if we’re growing fruit. As with any tree, the fruit won’t grow in abundance all at once but there will be little buds here and there until eventually the fruit begins to bloom. I shudder to think of Jesus looking at my life and being disappointed in the lack of fruit. After all, he has given us a super-charged fertilizer in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This parable also talks about the gardener coming to a point where he’s waited long enough for fruit to appear on the tree. Where he finally decides to cut it down because it’s just taking up space in the garden. Since I believe that if you truly accept Jesus as your Savior you cannot lose your salvation (Romans 11:29; John 10:27-29), I think this is more applicable to someone who’s just “talking the talk”. This is probably a picture of someone who at one time in their life “prayed a prayer” or in some other way thought they’d give Jesus a try but never truly surrendered their life to him. They had a moment in time that they never looked back on and the life they’ve lived since then has not been a life changed by a redeeming Savior. If that is you – repent now before it’s too late.
“…And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.” – Luke 13:3
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” – John 15:4