Our Gardener Prunes Us

 

I encourage you to read John 15:1-8 for Jesus full lesson on the vine and His branches...

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that I may bear more fruit." John 15:1-2

Last year we bought a smaller house that sits on almost twelve acres of land. Sadly, because of health issues, the previous owners were no longer able to care for it. We have slowly (painfully slow in my impatient mind) been working on taming some of the over-growth. For many years, no one tended to the maintenance of the many trees, bushes, and plants. No pruning had taken place.

There are a few trees out front - I'm not sure what kind - that had grown all sorts of odd ways, with many branches curving down to the ground rather than up towards the sky. Buried in there were some sticks - off the branches - that had died but were still connected to the trees. I spent several hours this afternoon pruning that tree. I carefully chose where to lop off part of a branch, making a pile of trimmed limbs as I went. As I trimmed the trees, I thought of how God trims and prunes us, His children. 

Sometimes the process can be painful, cutting something back typically is. However, many times, as with my trees today, we cannot remove the 'dead' stuff without taking some of the new growth that is intertwined with it. If we go too long without God pruning us - maybe we resist it because it's uncomfortable - then it can be a more painful process as there is much to be trimmed out of our lives. Regular pruning keeps us bearing good fruit for the Lord - that is living His plan for our lives, sharing His Word with others, and living as Christ showed us how.

What are some of the things God might prune from our lives? We might have certain bad habits that are hindering our Christian growth. Or we could have specific sins we keep falling back into. Perhaps we have areas of our life that we have been reluctant to give over to God. All these, and more, can keep us from having a full, and beautiful life in God and with God. Our loving Father knows this much better than we ever could! So in His love, He prunes us to help keep us growing in the right direction. 

If we have resisted His pruning for too long, He may have to cut a whole lot out in order for us to grow properly again. Friends, if this is the season that you are in, lean hard into God's loving presence. He will care for you better than anyone! He will water, fertilize, and prune. It may feel like forever until you see real progress but your spring season of explosive new growth is around the corner! Lean into God, and He will sustain you - better, He will build you up to showcase His glorious work in you! 

Over-growth, or growth in the wrong direction, is not the only reason for pruning. Even the healthy, thriving plants in our gardens need to be pruned regularly so that they can grow even better. Keep this in mind when you feel God trimming parts of you, or your life, even though you feel like you are on a good path. As Paul reminds us in Romans 3:23, " for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Even the strongest, most faithful Christians still stumble. We should include self-reflection in our prayer life - we should actively seek God's pruning of our shortcoming! Don't we want to bear even more fruit for our amazing God? 

I would like to challenge each of you (I'm going to work on this too!) to reflect on one thing this week that you feel might be hindering your ability to bear fruit for God. I'm not giving suggestions on what that might be...I want you to be brutally honest with yourself, and I want you to seek God's discernment on this. Don't go looking for more than one though - it can get very overwhelming, very quickly, if you try to tackle too many things at once. Once you have prayerfully identified your goal, ask God for help in pruning it from your life. Be prepared for this to be a real challenge. It is never easy to cut out something that is part of who you are, even if it's small. Fill the empty space with God. Let His love seal up the wound that may have occurred from the pruning. My friends, on the other side, I have no doubt that God will use this to do amazing things in you!