The man said to him in reply, "Sir, leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down." (Luke 13:8-9)

The parable of the barren fig tree never fails to touch my heart. Jesus employed the story to teach in part about God’s patience with those of us who are slow to repent. Jesus spoke of a fig tree found by a landowner to be barren for three years. The man instructed his gardener to cut down the unproductive tree, but the gardener appealed to his employer to wait a year. The gardener promised to give the tree special care, believing it would bear fruit given the chance to live.

The exchange between the landowner and the gardener reminds me that, but for God’s patient love, I could have been that tree, chopped to the ground and discarded during a prolonged barren time in my life. My guess is that many of you have felt rooted in that same unwelcoming orchard. How utterly tragic if God had let our lives be defined by our failures to bear fruit in that place, at that time.

But ours is the God of second chances, the Great Gardener of our lives who tends and cares for us. He prunes here to encourage growth, protects there to withstand a crosswind, sends sun and rain without our asking, and eagerly nourishes with love, compassion, and truth.

I thank God for all my second chances, and for the promise that they are granted not just for a fleeting season.