Leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine; if not, then cut it down — the gardener's mercy introduces a deadline that extends but does not eliminate judgment. The one more year represents the final period of opportunity before the consequences of continued fruitlessness. The parable ends without revealing whether the tree bore fruit, leaving the response to the hearer.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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