Many years ago a friend shared with me a taped sermon about Luke 13:1-9, a message which then changed my outlook.  A few years after, the truths of this passage helped us through the tragic loss of our 7 month old son after his open heart surgery.  The message is also relevant to our country’s situation today.  Jesus speaks to two tragedies of His day - the second of which is a tower that toppled killing some people:

Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.  And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?  I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.  Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

And He began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.  And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’  And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’ ”

Jesus goes on to tell them the parable of the fig tree.  A vineyard-keeper convinces the owner that the unfruitful fig tree in the vineyard should be given another year to live.  The point here is that God gives each successive year, each successive day, really each successive moment of our lives.  This is hard on our theology because there is an underlying thought in our culture that every individual should have 70 healthy years of life.  Anything short of this is viewed as unfair and a violation of our rights.  Loss of faith can be the result.  The deeper theological truth is that ever since the fall, God has sustained every moment of our existence with His gracious hand (Gen 3:21).  But the practical truth here is another theme which Jesus practices in His ministry (Mk 8:6) - BE THANKFUL.