Bloom or Die

   He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down (Luke 13:6-9).

   One spring I planted three dahlias outside my kitchen window. Late summer came and I was disappointed, that although two of the plants bloomed, the third one got tiny buds, but refused to bloom. If it didn’t bloom, I would let it stay in the ground and freeze.  So I started to fertilize it often, and watered the plant until I thought it might drown.

   I didn’t know if the ground was bad, or the plant. Still I fertilized and watered it, and began to pray that the Lord would make it grow. After a couple of weeks, the buds began to grow and I could see color in them. At last the plant produced an abundance of beautiful flowers.

   Some people are like that. They refuse to grow and produce a harvest for the Lord. But Jesus is faithful and works with them so that they will become the beautiful and productive Christians that God intended them to be.

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