"And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck off the branches that have not brought forth good fruit, and cast them into the fire.
But behold, the servant said unto him: Let us prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer, that perhaps it may bring forth good fruit unto thee, that thou canst lay it up against the season."
Jacob 5:26-27
I like this idea of waiting a little longer, because I think it encompasses a lot of what the atonement is about, and what God is willing to do for us. The servant asks the Lord to wait a little longer so that more can be saved... so that we can learn and grow and change and ripen, and hopefully end up as good fruit rather than evil.
Later in the allegory we read "And thou beheldest that a part thereof brought forth good fruit, and a part thereof brought forth wild fruit; and because I plucked not the branches thereof and cast them into the fire, behold, they have overcome the good branch that it hath withered away" (verse 45). ... God knows that by prolonging our time here that we might wither away, or on the other hand that we might cause others to wither away. In other words, he knows that we are going to have a bad influence on and harm each other sometimes. And he takes that risk, knowing the consequences, to help give us space to repent and change.
In the end, God will cut away all the bad, restore the good fruit to his vineyard, and eventually complete the harvest. Until then though, we have some extra time to ripen and flourish. Let's take advantage of that time that we are given, for "a little longer," and infuse ourselves and the world with good. Let's be the good fruit and influence others for good rather than evil. And let's be thankful to God for the time we have to explore and discover, finding joy and goodness in the world around us.
