Saturday 25 October 2025
Give the fig tree another year
Justin: I think your gardener was a bit soft, Jesus. Three strikes and you’re out, I say, and that goes for fig trees and for kids who pinch cars. Orchards and societies need firm rules if they are to thrive.
Jesus: Thanks, Justin. I was talking about God, of course, and God’s relationship to us, not about gardeners. And God does forgive us and let us live even though we don’t bear fruit for almost a lifetime. He doesn’t enforce his rules. Is God mistaken, do you think?
Justin: Well, I think you can confuse people by talking too much about mercy and not insisting on justice and punishment. We need it. Otherwise, things get out of hand.
Jesus: And what is the cost, when we forget love and live only by law, Justin? And which of you could survive if you were not forgiven?
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