Daily Devotions

At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:1-9

Back in the day when my knees worked and I could still look down and see my feet, I was a basketball player. One of the first fundamentals we were taught was the “ready position”. Knees shoulder width apart, slightly bent, eyes looking straight out, one arm up, and one arm down. We did drills to drill that position into our muscle memory.

The benefits of the ready position came especially on defense. We could quickly move in any direction, anticipating the next step, and beating our opponent to the spot they wanted to go.

I’m thinking about the “ready position” today as I read Jesus’ call to repentance. To be a person of faith is to be ready for anything and everything that life might toss our way. As we have all heard before, it isn’t what happens to us that matters as much as what we do with what happens to us.

Repentance can be explained and understood in many ways but the fundamental sense of repentance is simple. How does this definition work for you? I admitted that I couldn’t and didn’t. I came to see that God could and would. I decided to let God do God’s part as I take responsibility for mine.

And in the meantime, as I live in and out of repentance on a daily basis, I can trust that God is not only patient with me but also provides me all I need to do all I can and need to do.

So maybe the next time we find ourselves knee deep in the crap of life we can take comfort from seeing it as the fertilizer intended to help us grow.

Let us pray: Gracious Lord, make us ready for anything. Feed us, strengthen us, be patient with us, as we do the best we can for you and our neighbor each day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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