God gives each of us a lease of time in this physical world with varying durations.  He entrusts us with various talents.  He puts people in our lives.  He has a job or work that is to be our contribution to furthering his creation.  He expects some fruit to come from his lease to us.  For me and many of us, any review of our lives will likely produce a mixed report with both positive and negative fruit.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shares the Parable of the Tenants. “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and then went on a journey for a long time.” (Luke 20:9) At harvest time he sent his servants and subsequently his son to collect some of the fruit, but the tenants beat the servants and killed the son, claiming the vineyard for themselves,  

The response of the vineyard owner was harsh.  He killed the tenants and gave the vineyard to others.  The chief priests to whom Jesus was telling the parable realized that Jesus was talking about them.

Recently I was rereading “Notes from Your Family” in honor of a certain birthday from a couple of years ago.  The notes were from my wife, my children, their spouses, and their children.  In their notes, they shared various memories of when I spent time with them individually or when we did things together as a family, or extended family involving the grandchildren.  Many of the memories were when the children or grandchildren were young, playing a game, taking a hike, building something, making a trail through the woods, teaching them to fish, time on the boat, or times when we were all together at a beach house.

Some of these moments I had forgotten, but they had not.  While I may not have realized it at the time, these various times were given to me by God in my lease from him.  Some of them were bearing fruit and may have contributed in some small way to where our children and their children are today. 

Time, spouse, children, grandchildren, work, friends, ministry and faith — all are part of the lease God gives to each of us. All are precious seeds waiting to bear fruit for the Lord under our tenancy.

What kind of tenant have you been of God’s lease to you?