One More Year

June 19

(Luke 13:6-9 NIV) ““Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. {7} 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?' {8} "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. {9} If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.””

(Psalms 103:8-18 NIV)  "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. {9} He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; {10} he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. {11} For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; {12} as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. {13} As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; {14} for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. {15} As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; {16} the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. {17} But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-- {18} with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts."

(2 Peter 3:9 NIV)  “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

God is so patient with us. He created us to be holy, but we have all gone astray. Even so, he does not treat us as our sins deserve. Because of His great love for us, we do not always suffer for our sinning. But if we are not careful, we can come to a disastrous conclusion. We can misinterpret God’s grace. We can begin to think that since we are not suffering, we must not be sinners. We can conclude that since God is blessing us, our sin must not be so bad, and that we have God’s blessing to continue living the way we are. We can come to believe that a crooked line is the shortest distance between two points. But what if God, in His mercy, was merely giving us time to produce fruit of righteousness in our lives? What if God was giving us one more year to become who He created us to be? Judgment may be slow in coming, but it will indeed come. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day