Spring is almost here, though right now it doesn't look it in most of the country. This is the time for preparing the ground for planting and pruning bushes and trees to encourage new growth. As part of our preparation for summer, we pruned the rose bushes at my daughter's house last month. We were very aggressive in pruning because of disease damage and to help the bush become larger and fuller. We had to cut off some of the producing branches so they would grow stronger and produce even more roses. There wasn't much left of the bushes when we had finished. The pruned branches made me think about how I feel after God has done some pruning on me, not much left to produce fruit!
There are times in our lives when it seems as if we are being pruned too much! We feel that God is removing or revealing too much that He wants us to let go or get rid of. We wonder what will be left when He is finished. Some of what He is removing may be damaged from wrong choices, hurts, unhealthy relationships, or disappointments; parts of us that are no longer producing any fruit that is beneficial to others. If we aren't pruned, if the non-productive parts aren't removed, we will slowly become less and less fruitful as we live out our faith.
“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
Like a good gardener, God also prunes parts of us that may still be healthy, producing, and beneficial; however, those parts need to be trimmed back so we can grow deeper and stronger in our faith and produce a larger harvest, be more fruitful. These things could be different roles or tasks we perform in our jobs, church, or community. What we are doing is beneficial and producing fruit, yet God knows that we would be even stronger and more plentiful if we let go of those things. Just like the rose bush, even producing branches need to be trimmed back so they can grow stronger and more fruitful.
Even though many of us may look quite bare after God has finished with His pruning process, God is the master Gardener and knows what is best for us! Though we have been cut back, we are still attached to the life giving vine, Christ, always being able to draw nourishment and strength from Him. As Christians, we have to trust that our pruning, our trials that force us to let go of things and relationships, are part of the Spring process of getting us ready for a plentiful harvest one day. We have to believe that no matter how bare we may seem right now, God's work in us will cause us to be more fruitful than we could ever imagine
If you are feeling a little bare, that You are being pruned too much, talk to God. Ask Him to help you trust in His gardening skills and grow us as He intends. Bloom where God has planted you!
Religion on 03/20/2019