The Proverbial Tree without Fruit

For some reason or another I found myself reading that section of the gospels where Jesus seeks fruit on a fig tree, and when there is none, he curses it and the tree withers away.  It reminded me of the counterpoint made in the story where the owner of a fig tree comes seeking fruitfulness, and finding none, tells his gardener to cut it down because it is wasting space and is useless.  The gardener takes a slightly different tack and asks for one more year of special care to coax the tree to fruitfulness.  Now there are enough examples of dry and dead trees being burned up in the fire in the Scriptures and I am not going to be drawn into an argument about the fairness of these examples.  God is God, and I am not, and if He wants to wither fig trees even when they don't bear in the wrong season that is His business.

But I will apply the story as if I was the one seeking fruit.  What is my response to be when finding none?  Am I quick to condemn, to lay the ax to the root, to cast the tree on the pile to be burned?  Is fruitfulness or usefulness the measure I use to judge another's spirituality?  Is my spiritual discernment to be kingdom production oriented?  I wonder if we have not misread the intent of these gospel accounts and taken the wrong view of how God views the human soul.  Judging on fruitfulness does not seem to express the miracle of grace.  After all, if God saved us when we were separated sinners under condemnation, will He be so quick to cast us off if we fail to show forth the fruits of righteousness?  That's as far as I can take this train of thought.  On another note, check out some of the commentaries on this passage if you want to see a bunch of evangelicals doing contortions and back flips to defend the justice of God against His mercy.