“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

For me, gardening is an exercise in trust.

I drop tiny seeds into ground, believing that most of them will sprout and grow into ample food for my family and myself.

In faith, I thin out my rows of seedlings, pulling out perfectly healthy plants to make room for others to grow, confident that this will actually give me a better yield.

One of the more difficult parts about gardening is pruning. I find myself second-guessing how much of a branch to cut off, or if I really need to get rid of all but a couple of raspberry canes.
It seems counter-intuitive that less branches would equal more fruit.

In the same way, God takes His clippers to me, His branch. He doesn’t hold back; He prunes away all of the unfruitful parts of my life.

Any desire that would take glory away from Him is snipped off. Any plan that feeds my ego rather than a Christ-like spirit is stripped away.

He would rather that I would be a spindly stalk that produces fruit than a lush bush covered with leaves that produces nothing of value. And when I really think about it, so would I.

God, help me to accept the pruning You do in my life, and trust that You know what is best for me. As You prune, may Your Spirit work in my life to make me more like the true vine, Jesus Christ. Amen.

By Caran Jantzen
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• Prickly Cactus
• Aphids and Sin – an interesting comparison

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