The Master Gardener did it to me again. When you grow up in the church and hear the same stories over and over, it is easy to gloss over the meaning and assume what was taught was correct. I often move quickly over those stories especially when my understanding of the story conflicts with who I believe Jesus to be.

In many scriptures Jesus is depicted as the master, the one in charge who shows grace such as the parable of the workers who received the same wages regardless of their hours worked. Similarly, that is how I have always read this scripture and it made me uncomfortable to think Jesus would destroy something that doesn’t bear fruit.

^6-7 Then he told them a story: “A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any. He said to his gardener, ‘What’s going on here? For three years now I’ve come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?’ ^8-9 “The gardener said, ‘Let’s give it another year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn’t, then chop it down.’” (Luke 13: 6-9 MSG).

Then it was brought to my attention that Jesus is the Master Gardener in this story. He is the one who fights for the tree and wants it to have another chance to bear fruit with further nurturing. This is exactly what he does for each of us. He gives us another chance. He continues to nurture us until we can bear fruit.

This new perspective is a relief. It aligns with the Jesus I know. It makes so much more sense than the version of the story I have carried for decades. How do you see the Master Gardener? Does he nurture or cut down? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.