ON THE VANGUARD

PRUNING
“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

Back in 2001, I lived in a mobile home outside of Nashville. The home was seated on three acres of land. One morning in the spring as I was walking the land I found a pile of 2” x 4”s and scrap sheets of plywood, and suddenly had the urge to build a fence for a garden. Within a few days I had completed the fence, tilled the ground, and planted my seeds. Little did know that that 8’ x 10’ garden would launch me into the pleasure of gardening even still today. I’m not sure how to explain it really, but there is just something about watching what you plant take birth and produce a crop. However, gardening is also a chore. In the garden I found weeds and bugs that had to be removed, but I also found that I had to prune my crops as well. In the early days this was not a chore I kept up with as it was time consuming. I was more interested in the end result than the process. Thankfully I learned since then, and read a few gardening books since then, and now know more of what it takes to have a better harvest. The biggest factor is not the weeds, bugs, or even making sure there is enough water, but rather the pruning. By removing the dying stems and leaves that tend to suck out life I allow for a better growth of my crop. Since doing this chore, I have found a greater return in my harvest.
As people, we too need pruning. It is easy to go through life unaware or unconcerned about the things that suck life from us. Just as this is true, it is also true that rarely will a person be as strong as a cedar, with a heritage of strength, integrity, and beauty on their own. Sadly, most us our either victim to an addiction, depression, divorce, or some other ‘sucker’ that destroys any good fruit that could be produced. Because of this exact reason, Jesus points out that He is the true vine and His Father, God, is the gardener. Any branch or stem in connection with Him will produce fruit. But the branch that tries to grow apart from Him, or in addition to Him, is a sucker. Sucker branches are removed by God the gardener because they steal life from the true vine. Jesus shares in John 15:2, that God, “…cuts off every branch in [Him] that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes…” So then, removal will come to those who are not fastened to Him. And, pruning will come to those who are in Him but may have suckers attached.
I find myself constantly having to be pruned. Oh boy, sometimes it hurts to be stripped of the sucker that has grown like an appendage to me. The tumor that grows in the Spirit on me sucks my life and drains me of my energy and will to move on. But this is the exact reason why I must connect with the vine. In this connection I have life, and I have the care of the gardener. Apart from the vine, I am just a branch with no fruit and the option to be removed from the garden altogether. As long as I am connected to the vine, the gardener will continue to work on me to remove the suckers, the appendages, and the tumors so that I can produce fruit. I then connect myself to the vine, and offer myself to the care of the gardener, because it is my ultimate desire that I bring forth fruit. Is this also your desire? If so, then let us no longer be consumed by what we have been a victim of, but instead connect with the vine. The pruning will follow naturally. Don’t fight it. Embrace the pruning and you will see fruit coming forth.