Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Grace is Messy

Home
Meet Steve Austin
About Messy Grace
Books
Speaker
Contact
Categories
- Faith
- Family
  - Marriage
  - Parenting
- Mental Health
- Recovery
- Writing Help
Best of Messy Grace
Support
Supporters
Affirming Churches
ASK STEVE!
Press
The Podcast

Home
Progressive Christian
The Message is in the Manure

The Message is in the Manure

Last updated on: July 24, 2014 at 6:00 am by Steve Austin

The Message is in the Manure 2014-07-24T06:00:09-05:00 Steve Austin

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I tell you, No; but unless you repent (change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost eternally.

And He told them this parable: A certain man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find [any]. So he said to the vinedresser, See here! For these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue also to use up the ground [to deplete the soil, intercept the sun, and take up room]?

But he replied to him, Leave it alone, sir, [just] this one more year, till I dig around it and put manure [on the soil]. Then perhaps it will bear fruit after this; but if not, you can cut it down and out.

Luke 13: 5-9, The Amplified Bible

When Pastor Paul (Christ Community United Methodist) taught from this portion of Scripture on Sunday, if you know me very well at all, you know that the only word that stuck out in my head from the entire passage was “manure”.

I love “potty humor”. Love it. I am the perpetual 10-year-old boy and there is nothing funnier to me than a fart or a poot or something passing gas or “breaking wind” or talking about poop or dropping the kids off at the pool or taking a dump or a slam or taking the Browns to the Super Bowl or filing paperwork, or whatever else you might call it. Nothing. There is nothing funnier to me. If that offends you, I’m almost done. But you may not want to watch this video clip if you don’t like bathroom humor.

I warned you.

But in all seriousness, what the crap is this post about? (See what I did there?)

So you have this fig tree. At least it looks like a fig tree. One problem: no figs. How can you prove that it’s a fig tree if it has no figs? And if you’re the owner of a vineyard, what good is a tree to you if it produces no fruit?

This story is messy and beautiful for two reasons:

The gardener has mercy on the fruitless tree and says to the owner, “Give me more time. Let me work with this one. Let me fertilize it. Let me cultivate it. Give me another year and let me see if I can get it to produce fruit.” The gardener believes that the tree is able to perform the task it was designed and destined to do.
The fertilizer was manure. I have seen, in my brief life, the truth that poop produces. Manure is simply the waste of an animal It’s dung. It’s feces. And it stinks. There is nothing good-smelling about a load of crap. Here’s the strange thing: sometimes the only way to get results is to let the Gardener of your Soul pile that $h!t on.

Lindsey and I have been going through a tough time of transition for the past several months, with the birth of Baby Caroline in March and the fact that Lindsey is no longer working. We are BLESSED that Lindsey is able to stay home with our two beautiful children. I can’t imagine anyone else watching our children for 8-10 hours a day, but it is a learning process for us financially and we have truthfully faced some very difficult times, especially within the last month.

But remember, the message is in the manure.

I told some close friends yesterday that it seems like God is truly stripping away everything we have so that we have to COMPLETELY rely on (and trust in) Him. We are having to make major budget changes, and He has helped, in the most mysterious (and shocking) ways to trim our budget. Just trust me on that one.

So what do you do when the poop piles on?

Know that you are being cultivated for a purpose that is greater than you could ever imagine and that the Gardener of your Soul is getting His hands messy with the one He loves so very much.

–Steve

fig tree with no fruit

Previous Post

July 18, 2014

The Value of Brokenness

Next Post

June 22, 2015 Seasons

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Anxiety Best of Messy Grace Current Events Depression Faith Family Featured Fiction lgbtq Marriage Mental Health Messy Grace Millennials Parenting Recovery Recovery from a Suicide Attempt Recovery from Abuse Recovery from Porn Addiction Religious Recovery Self Care The Struggle With Church This is My Story (series) Uncategorized Writing Help

Select a Month January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 June 2015 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 April 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 September 2011 August 2011 May 2011 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In which city did David reign seven years before becoming king over all Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Bethlehem Hebron Jerusalem Shechem