Is that a plant that is not bearing fruit is a waste of resources. Whether it’s literal fruit, or a berry, or a vegetable, or the simple beauty of a flower, if a plant is not fully doing what it was created to do, if it’s not living up to its full “plantness,” then what’s it all for?
It’s taking up space in the bed, it’s absorbing nutrients, it’s potentially blocking other plants from the sun, it’s taking up time and attention and energy from the gardener—and producing nothing in return. Take. Take. Take. Take. Take. No give.
And if the return on investment isn’t high enough for the gardener, what does she do? She digs it up, tosses it onto the compost heap, and plants something in its place that she hopes will bring some reward—whether fruit, berry, vegetable, or bloom.
There is often tension in the teachings of Jesus. One tension is between God’s love for us as a Father who simply loves us because we are, and God as a Gardener who loves us when we produce, when we bear whatever fruit we were created to bear.
If I only take his love (like a child), and never produce anything worthwhile (like a plant), then what’s it all for?
