ANOTHER YEAR

Every time when we celebrate our birthday, we used to thank God for adding one more year in our life. Every time when we get into 1st January our heart rejoices for the New Year. Let’s see from Bible that why God is giving us one more year.

There was a parable about the barren fig tree which was told by Jesus is given in Luke 13:6-9. The parable goes like this. A man who is the owner of a vineyard comes to his vineyard seeking fruit on a fig tree. But he found none. So he calls the keeper of the vineyard and told him to cut the fig tree since it is not giving any fruit for three years.

We have to understand one thing. The owner of the vineyard comes regularly for three years seeking fruit in the fig tree. But the fig tree has never produced a fruit. So the owner gets disappointed and asks the keeper to cut the tree and throw it off.

The fig tree also would have thought that it was useful for nothing. It would have said within itself: "Yeah! What the owner saying is correct. I should be cut down since I could not produce any fruit." It would have hated itself for its outcome.

At that moment came a sweet voice of the keeper of the vineyard saying: "No my Lord! Don't cut it down. Please give one more year to this tree. I will do all that is possible for this tree to bear fruit. If it bears fruit you keep it. If it does not bear fruit, then you can cut it down."

"Give my son/daughter one more year" - that is the voice of Jesus pleading to Father God so that we won't be cut down. We may not have produced any fruit before. You would have thought in your heart that you are eligible to be thrown off from God's garden because of the sins you have done that stopped bearing fruit in your life. 

Jesus Christ is saying: "My son/daughter let Me give you one more year. In this one year I will give you My grace, mercy and strength to bear fruit. You may not have produced fruit in the past year. Don't worry. I am giving you a new year to start again. A new opportunity to live for Me. If you bear fruit atleast in this year, I will keep you with Me in My garden...Forever."

Bear fruit for God in this New Year so that you won't be cut off. May God's grace sustain you!!