John 15
The Vine and the Branches
1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He 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.
I was raised in a gardening family. My mom can make anything grow and flourish - even the most spindly, or puny plant soon thrives under Mom's TLC. In his retirement, Dad also likes to garden. In addition to his usual vegetable garden, he was very proud of his bed of iris that bloomed with magnificent color this year. The beautiful color of flowers and the wonderful harvest of vegetables can be the most fun part of gardening. But to be an effective gardener, you also have to be a little ruthless in pruning or cutting back plants so that they can grow thicker and more beautiful. It's surprising how emotionally hard it can be to cut a limb off a bush or a perennial. I tend to assign hum
an feelings to the poor plant and imagine it saying "ouch" or feeling betrayed by my actions. I'm strange that way. This spring, my husband couldn't believe his ears when I asked him to prune the butterfly bush all the way to the ground. He was convinced it would die. But that type of harsh pruning is exactly what the butterfly bush needs and now it is about 7 feet tall and covered with purple flowers that attract all sorts of butterflies and hummingbirds.The Bible tells us that God is the Master Gardener of our life. In order for our lives to bloom and be as beautiful as He intended, we often need to be pruned. I must admit, I don't like it. However it has taken many years of life experience to appreciate the times of pruning. I know that if certain friendships had not been pruned out of my life, I would never have learn to rely on my one true friend, Jesus. I know that if a certain job had not been pruned out of my life, I would never have pursued my true calling. I also know that the pruning will never be over because God has a wonderful plan and purpose for my life to bear much fruit to glorify His name. I pray that I will be able to recognize the pruning shears when they come my way in the future, welcome them and trust that God knows what He's doing. I will trust that the beautiful fruit that it produces will be worth the pruning. I will try to be thankful for the pruning. After all, if I were dead, I wouldn't need to be pruned.
