Patience with Young Musicians

Patience with Young Musicians

Luke 13:6-8, Then he gave them this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came to look for fruit on it, but found none.  So he said to the gardener: "`See, for years I have come looking for fruit on this tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why should it actually cumber the ground?” But the gardener answered him: `Lord, let it alone this year also, till I have dug around it, and fertilized it.  (MNT)

            Jesus gave this parable of the man who owned a fig tree that for several years had failed to bear figs.  Have you ever experienced a musician that you would consider to be a fruitless musician?  We have a tendency to consider young musicians that are head strong and seem to make more bad decisions than good ones. 

            The “owner” wanted to get rid of the problem tree but the faithful “gardener” begged the owner to give him “this year” to dig around it and fertilize it.  I want to be a faithful gardener rather than an “owner”.  The young musicians that God has entrusted to me are not my property—they are my responsibility.  I am asking the Lord of Harvest to send forth laborers into his harvest.  Therefore, I must remember that they will never go into His harvest if I “cut them down” rather than build them up in the most holy faith.