"Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit." (Isaiah 5:2)

Men and women, especially those in agricultural or horticultural tasks, are well-placed to understand something of what God thinks and feels as regards his relationship to human beings. Farmers take care in a range of actions with regard to their plants and crops. Soil preparation, watering, weed control and pruning are some of them. But there are limits to what the farmer can do. Mankind is likened to a plant which has the potential to bear fruit. God hopes for such an outcome but limits his involvement in the process to allow for free cooperation with his purpose. Consider the high cost of a love willing to risk a harvest of human failure.