God’s Garden

His sweat, “like drops of blood” flowed from him like the pressed olives running red.

For isn’t that what hope is? An olive leaf, evidence of dry land after an all-consuming flood.

See, sometimes we let our attention drift from God’s altar to what the grove of the world offers us.

The fruit of love is in the small details of our actions adding to the fruit of the vine the Gardener harvests.

It was an invitation for us to not just tend the vineyard but to abide in an intimate relationship with the Vine to produce fruit as part of the Body.

We are very quick to put our hands up and say “Yes Lord, send me!” but when it comes to the sending, we have various reasons not to go to the vineyard of our Master.

To me, the words “Go out and work in the vineyard today” are a command. We should adhere in obedience and make the daily choice: are we the first or second son?

Vineyard texts insist that God remains in a constant, personal relationship with His people and continues to care for and preserve them, and stays faithful even when we fail to do so.

Jesus’ public ministry lasted a little over three years – the three-year fulfilment of the Levitical law from which He became the first fruit of the resurrection.

The fig tree is the representation and conceptualization of our souls and also the tree mentioned most (and visited) by Jesus.