Introduction

Some mornings feel like a fresh page. The coffee is warm, the sky is kind, and the world seems willing to be gentle with you. Other mornings arrive like headlines—hard, heavy, and hurried—reminding us how fragile life can be. Jesus once stood with people who had fresh headlines on their hearts: a massacre in the temple, a sudden collapse of a tower, lives cut short without warning. Into that ache, He spoke words that were honest and healing at the same time. He called His listeners to turn, to come home to God, to live awake.

Tim Keller said, “All of life is repentance.” That’s not a finger wagging at your failures. It’s a hand extended to your future. It’s God whispering, “Come closer.” Repentance is the daily nearness of a heart that keeps turning toward a Savior who keeps welcoming. It looks like opening the door to the Gardener who kneels at the base of a barren tree and says, “Give it another year.” It looks like mercy waiting at the gate and grace working in the soil.

If you’ve ever watched a fig tree through the seasons, you know the quiet thrill of first leaves and the promise they carry. In Luke 13, Jesus tells of a fig tree that wasn’t producing. There’s urgency in the owner’s voice and tenderness in the gardener’s reply. Patience is offered, attention is promised, cultivation begins. In Mark 13, Jesus points again to a fig tree, this time as a teacher: when the branches soften and leaves appear, summer is close. The world has its signals. The heart does too.

So today, let’s hear three steady calls: - Repent while Mercy still stands. If your chest is rising and falling, Mercy still stands. - Expect fruit under abundant grace. The Gardener is good at His work. - Prepare for inevitable judgment. A calendar is coming, a King is returning, and readiness is wisdom.

May these words steady the tremble in your soul. May they put strength in your step and softness in your spirit. Maybe you’ve prayed before and feel like your words bounced off the ceiling. Maybe you’ve promised change and then watched yourself repeat old patterns. Friend, the Gardener is near. He brings His spade and His skill. He loosens hard ground. He enriches poor soil. He knows how to coax life from places you’ve written off. Can you imagine new fruit growing where there’s only been leaves? Can you picture your mouth forming the word yes to God today?

If the news makes you anxious, if the calendar makes you weary, if the mirror makes you honest—good. These are the very moments when grace does its best work. The King who warns is the King who welcomes. The signs are sober, the Savior is strong, and this day—this very hour—can become the season when your heart turns, your habits change, and your life begins to bear what God delights to see.

Opening Prayer: Father, thank You for another morning of mercy. Thank You for waking us and wanting us. We confess our sins and our stubbornness. We ask You to turn our hearts tender, to till our hard places, and to plant Your truth deep within us. Lord Jesus, speak to us through Your Word. Call us to repentance with kindness. Shape us for fruitfulness by Your grace. Holy Spirit, awaken us to the nearness of the Kingdom and teach us to watch, to pray, and to walk in readiness. Let today be a day of turning, trusting, and transforming. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Scripture Reading: Luke 13:1-9 (KJV) 1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 6 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. 7 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? 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Mark 13:28-33 (KJV) 28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: 29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. 30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done. 31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

Repent while Mercy Still Stands

The report came to Jesus with names and blood and a stain on holy ground. People wanted an answer for why it happened. He did not rank sins. He made a call to turn. The word was clear. Turn to God. Do not wait for a better time. Do not wait to have a perfect record. Sorrow in the news often wakes the soul. It does not tell you who was worse. It tells you life is thin and time is short. When Jesus says, “Except you repent, you will perish,” He is opening a door. He is urging a step. The warning itself is care. The command is plain and kind. Turn from sin. Turn to God. Ask for mercy while your mouth can form the words. Tragedy is a bell. It does not crush the heart that listens. It calls the heart to come back to the Father who still hears.

The people standing there knew about the tower that fell. Eighteen gone in a moment. No warning. No time to make plans. Jesus does not trace their past or weigh their faults. He speaks to those still breathing. He speaks to those still able to choose. The message lands on everyone. Do not play the blame game. Do not try to guess why others suffered. Receive the wake-up as your own. Bring your guilt into the light. Name your sins. Ask for cleansing. This is not shame for its own sake. This is a turning that leads to life. This is honesty that brings help. The call is heavy because the stakes are high. The call is kind because God is near.

The next scene moves to a vineyard with a fig tree in it. For years the owner came and found no figs. Empty branches. Wasted space. The owner speaks with strong words. Cut it down. The keeper of the vineyard steps in. He asks for more time. He offers real work. He will break the ground around it. He will feed it. He will give care where there has been neglect. This is a picture of steady kindness. This is a window of time. This is patience that has an aim. The aim is fruit. The aim is a life that shows change.

The extra season is a gift. It is also a limit. The keeper does not promise endless delay. He asks for one more year of care. If there is fruit, the tree stays. If there is still nothing, it goes. The picture is simple. Mercy is offered now. Judgment is coming. The time in between is for turning and for growth. Many of us know what it means to be barren. We know how it feels to try and fail. This word gives hope without pretending about the end. God gives time. God gives help. God looks for a changed life. The changed life is not a show. It is steady fruit that comes from a changed heart.

Think of what fruit could mean. It can look like clean lips where there were sharp words. It can look like truth where there were hidden lies. It can look like giving back what you took. It can look like turning from the screen that owns you. It can look like forgiving the debt you held for years. Fruit can be small at first. It can be slow. It can be hard to see day by day. Over time, it shows. The branch that once had leaves only starts to carry weight. Repentance is more than a feeling. It leads to a new pattern. It leads to acts that match the words. The extra season makes that possible. It gives room for repair. It gives room for habits to form. It gives room for love to mature.

Jesus also speaks of a fig tree in another way. He points to its tender branch and the leaves that come. He says when you see that, you know summer is near. The lesson is plain. Pay attention to signs. Seasons have signals. History has signals. The Lord teaches us to watch. He does not feed fear. He trains alertness. He sets our eyes on what He has said. He anchors us to His words that do not fade. So when He speaks of events that stir the earth, He is not dealing in rumors. He is instructing His people to keep awake. To pray. To stay steady. To stay clean.

There is another line in that teaching that humbles everyone. No one knows the day or the hour. Angels do not know. The Son, in His earthly mission, did not state it. The Father knows. So what do we do with that? We do not set dates. We do not sleep. We heed. We watch. We pray. We keep short accounts. We refuse a lazy heart. We refuse a cold heart. We let the unknown hour form a ready life. A ready life turns quickly when shown a sin. A ready life confesses quickly when words go wrong. A ready life keeps faith with ordinary duties. Work done well. Promises kept. Neighbors loved. Meals shared. Prayers raised.

Heaven and earth will shift and shake. His word will stand. That word includes a promise of return. That word includes a call to wakefulness. That word includes a plea for a soft heart. The connection to repentance is clear. If the King is near, the wise response is simple. Clean house. Make the path straight. Lift your eyes. Ask for help to change. Ask for power to obey. Ask for courage to make things right with people. Ask for clean hands in money and sex and speech. Ask for a fresh mind that loves what God loves. None of this earns favor. It shows trust in the One who warned and will come back.

We need a picture of what turning looks like on a Monday. Think of a hidden habit. Bring it to light with a friend who fears God. Delete what pulls you into the same mess. Place a real block in place. Tell the truth in the meeting where you usually bend it. Give back what you owe on the account you set aside. Make the call you have put off and own your part. Spend time in the Scriptures each morning and ask two questions. What is God saying. What will I do today. Then do one clear thing. Small acts pile up. They form a tree that can carry fruit when the season comes.

Repentance also moves toward people. It says, “I hurt you,” and then stops talking. It asks, “What can I do to repair this,” and then listens. It does not rush past tears. It sits in the pain your choices caused. It has a spine. It makes amends. It changes patterns that made you unsafe. It invites wise oversight for a while. It asks your spouse where trust was broken and then takes those steps without complaint. This is slow grace. This is humble work. It is also joy. Because you begin to see life where there was death. You begin to taste peace where there was storm. You begin to sense God’s nearness in places you avoided.

For some, repentance will touch power. It will change how you use your role at work. It will make room for voices you silenced. It will end a practice that pads the numbers. It will set fair pay where you held back. It will change how you speak to those who report to you. For others, it will touch comfort. It will adjust the calendar so you can serve. It will shift the budget so you can give. It will cut a subscription so you stop feeding your vice. It will move your feet toward the lonely neighbor. Turn means turn. In the hands of Christ, turn becomes life.

Many feel fear when they hear about the end. Jesus does not hand us a chart. He gives a call. Stay awake. Keep watch. Pray. Keep His words close. The fear starts to loosen when you obey in small steps. The heart that turns today rests better tonight. The conscience breathes. The hands open. The eyes see what God is doing. The unknown hour becomes a friend. It makes you honest. It makes you kind. It makes you ready.

There is a last thread to pull from the vineyard scene. The keeper promised to work the ground around the tree. Think of the ground around your life. Schedules. Friends. Places. Inputs. If those things are compacted, new life struggles. So ask God to help loosen the ground. Rearrange your time so there is space for His word. Seek out a wise group where you can confess and be prayed for. Change the places you walk after work if they lead you into the same trouble. Replace the podcast that stirs resentment with hymns or psalms in the car. These are small tools. They move dirt. They make room for roots and water. Over time, fruit forms.

Now hear the sober end of the parable again. If nothing grows, the tree goes. That sentence is hard. It is also fair. Time and care call for a response. Jesus speaks this way because He loves truth. He wants a changed life, not bare branches. So let the thought of an axe at the root wake you. Let it move you to act while you can. Confess before you are caught. Come clean before you are exposed. Ask for help before you fall again. Reach out now. The Lord is listening. The window is open.

Expect Fruit under Abundant Grace

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