Getting to the Bottom

Dig and dung is not for the faint of heart. Dig and dung is for those who want to be right in heart.

The Treatment™, as I like to call it, is more an approach than it is a one-size-fits-all checklist. What I mean is, The Treatment includes some investigation before you can decide on the next steps.

In the parable (Luke 13:6-9), the symptom was clear to the owner and the vinedresser. The fig tree that should have been producing figs was not. The owner wanted to cut it down. The vinedresser agreed that fruitlessness was not okay, but there was work that could be done.

First he dug around it. That was an exploratory phase. What’s going wrong down here? What are we not seeing that’s causing the problem? He didn’t know exactly, he needed to find out in order to diagnose. Bugs, severed roots, disease, too dry, other?

And this is why it’s not for the faint of heart. Once the shovel has been busy for a bit, are you ready to acknowledge and address what you find? And, if yes, and if the Lord in His grace shows you, are you ready to ask Him to show you more? “Lord, get me to the bottom of this. If there is more, don’t let me be impatient or unwilling.”

Can you pray, “Search me, O God, and know my heart…see if there be any grievous way in me” (Psalm 139:23-24).

We have not because we ask not. And sometimes we don’t ask because we don’t want the exposed root. That might hurt. That’s why the Distraction Industry is doing so well these days.