I am the
true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
He cuts off
every branch in me that bears no fruit,
while every
branch that does bear fruit he prunes
so that it
will be even more fruitful.
John 15:1-2 NIV
Ouch! Every time I read that Scripture I am reminded that because I am his child through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God is always pruning me.
If you have ever planted tomatoes, you
know that as little shoots spring up on the lower trunk of the plant, you have
to pinch them off. Otherwise, all the plant’s energy that should be feeding the
flowers goes into growing those useless shoots. The flowers are fewer which
means less fruit.
Sometimes a tomato plant may be tall and
beautiful; lush and green. You may hesitate to cut off any of its branches for
fear that it will look raggedy and awkward. But as you nourish it with plant
food, water it carefully and watch, it blooms profusely. After a few weeks that
raggedy plant may bear so much fruit that you must stake it up to keep it from
bending to the ground and breaking.
Life in Christ is like a tomato plant. God
is the gardener who cares for us, doing what it takes to help us become healthy
and strong. Christ is the stalk (John 15:5-8) providing nourishment and
strength, and we are those branches; hopefully bearing much fruit.
If we are not producing fruit for the
Father—snap. Our Heavenly Father will prune the useless branch. He wants to
redirect our wasted energy to an area that will bear fruit. If we are producing
fruit—snap. He prunes us back in order that we might produce even more fruit.
God is the perfect gardener. He knows
pruning is momentarily painful. But He will nourish us with his love and water
us with His Word in order that, like that carefully tended tomato plant, we
might bear much fruit in Him.
So, if you happen to be in the midst of
pruning season, take comfort in knowing that when the Father is finished
pruning you will be a beautiful and fruitful branch.
©JP 2013
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