God's Mercy

"Then [Jesus] 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.'" -Luke 13:6

In the parable the man told his caretaker to cut down the fig tree.  It had been three years since it'd been planted and it was customary to give a fig tree only three years to bear fruit before deeming it barren.  I did not know this when I bought my fig tree.  When mine did not bear fruit the first year I figured it must just be an "ornamental" fig tree and not a fruit-bearing kind.  I had left it in a pot so I could bring it in for the winter.  Imagine my surprise last year, after putting it outside for the season, I soon noticed all those little figs growing on it!

Jesus told his parable to show that God is merciful.  The caretaker asked for another year to "dig around it and fertilize it" before cutting it down.  God does not want any to be lost so He is giving the world more time to turn to Him.  But this applies not only to life after death, but how we live our life for Him now.  We must not presume upon God's mercy, but rather let it spur us on to live a merciful life.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible is "Do you not know God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance."  It's through showing others the mercy God has shown us that God will be revealed to them.

I am grateful for a merciful God.