Living a Productive and Meaningful Life – The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

Living a productive life is the heartbeat of God for you and I. God intends for our lives to be fruitful, maritally, career wise, business wise, financially, etc. Wherever (with no exceptions) we find ourselves, God intends for us to be fruitful. Just like a farmer invests his time and energy planting and harvesting crops, God has invested heavily in us and is expecting good fruits but when we don’t bear them, God becomes highly disappointed, like the owner of the fig tree in the parable of the barren fig tree recorded in Luke 13:6 – 9.

Luke 13:6. He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.

7 “Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’

8 “But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.

9 ‘And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’ “

So, this is the progression; God invests in your life to make you privileged but the privilege comes with a huge responsibility to bear fruits; if you fail to, you would be thrown out and the assignment would be given to another person.

At this juncture, it would help to do a soliloquy: ask yourself what fruits you have borne with all the investments God has made in your life. I know you want to ask what investments God has made in your life but I want to tell you there are numerous, even the air you breathe is God’s investment in your life. The position you find yourself, your talents and gifts are all God’s investment in your life but what are you doing with them? Are you allowing them go to waste or you’re using them productively and bringing forth fruits?

The first day I read this parable and this message dawned on me, I stood still for so many minutes pondering over it and asking myself, what I have done with all the investments God has made in my life. At that point, I realized that God had given me a privilege but a responsibility was attached to it and that was for me to utilize whatever the Lord had given me for the good of humanity.

The fact that you’re alive today is a privilege but you must wake up to the responsibility of using your gifts and talents to bear fruits and make your creator happy.

To every privilege, there is a responsibility attached. Are you ready to wake up to the responsibility and affect your generation for good? If you’re, just know that the time is short. In the Parable referred to above, the fruitless fig tree was given another year to bear fruit or be cut off because it was wasting the resources other fruitful trees should be using to bring forth more fruit. So, you don’t have all the time in the world to start bearing fruit. The time to do so is now! Avoid procrastination and any form of delay because failure to bear fruit would result in being cut off, like the fig tree, which had enjoyed God’s sunshine, air, nutrients from the soil, water and the tender care of the vine dresser. We’re in so many ways like the fig tree because of God’s investments upon our lives.

Why do you think the fig tree was used in this parable? Yves I-Bing Cheng, a Bible scholar says it’s because of the fig tree’s fruitfulness. According to him, “there is no tree that can beat a fig tree for fruitfulness. It can bear fruit in spring, in summer, in autumn and even in winter. For ten months of the year, a good fig tree can bear fruit, producing up to three crops of figs.” He therefore opines that God chooses the fig tree to illustrate the fact that what should have been most fruitful turns out to be not fruitful at all.

So, if you have been fruitless all your life, what’s the way out? I honestly think there is a way out if you find yourself in this kind of situation. And the way out is to nip the ugly trend in the bud. Like the fig tree in the parable above, you have a second chance to bear fruits, would you take it?

How to Live a Productive Life

A personal relationship with God is key because in John 15:5, He says without him, we can do nothing. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”
Self discipline is the foundation of a productive life; without it, your life would be a fruitless charade.
Time management is also essential. Time spent on fruitless activities should be minimized and invested on fruitful ventures.
Hunger and thirst to know your assignment in life. Ask yourself questions like: why am I here? As you already know from reading this blog, you’re not created by accident. You were created for a purpose and the earlier you discover it, the better it would be for you. As you would know the direction God wants your life to take.
Once you know your assignment, ruthlessly pursue its achievement. Take 100% responsibility for your assignment and refuse to trade blames. Doing this would help you live a productive and meaningful life. Anything short of that is fatal as you have a short time to turn the hands of the clock in your favour.
Never give up in the race of life as persistence pays at the end of the day. Also, be courageous and get out of your comfort zone.

Living an Extraordinary Life Is Important to Me

* If you ask me, I’d say I’m determined to live a productive and meaningful life.

* If you ask me, I’d say I don’t want to be thrown out and my assignment given to another person.

* If you ask me, I’d say I don’t want God’s investments in my life to go to waste because I know how it feels as a parent to invest in a child and not see returns on the investment.

Is it the same with you? I guess that’s a million dollar question that I’m going to live you with as I close this week’s edition of Monday Morning Dew. Keep a date with me next week for another exciting edition. In the meantime, please read and apply the tips you’re being exposed to. And don’t forget to share this post with your friends through the twitter, facebook, google plus and email buttons below the post. I’d greatly appreciate it.

I realise that we all need some form of push when it comes to taking action, so, I’ve decided to start what I call the Action Takers Club. If you want to be more productive by taking action on your dreams, please subscribe below: