I am continually amazed at how brilliantly written the Bible is! One of my favorite brilliantly written passages is found in John. It looks a little something like this:
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh it away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it, that it may bear more fruit. Already ye are clean because of the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me
John 15:1-4
There is so much truth in this entire passage, but I like to focus on one particular point, especially when I’m feeling really extra good about myself. I remember when this concept first made sense to me. It actually wasn’t that long ago, but it has been pretty life changing ever since. It’s there in verse 2. The first part makes total sense. The branches that aren’t producing get cut off. But it’s the next part that got me. Branches that bear fruit get cut so they can bear MORE fruit. One day I was reading this and it hit me; no matter what I do or how good I am or how well I sing or play piano, I’m gonna get cut, too. That was a big revelation for me. Once I thought about it in the context of being a gardener it made total sense. Even when a plant is doing well and growing, a gardener has to come in a cut some of the plant back to help it flourish and be the most fruitful. Pruning helps a plant get out of its own way. The same thing happens with us. We could be doing well and feel like things are moving right along. Our marriage is great. Our kids are behaving. Our job is good. We are going to church. We might even give a little money. But maybe in all of that we have filled our time up so well that we aren’t really spending time in the Word. We may think we are doing great by fulfilling our weekly duty to attend church. But then something happens that rocks us off the happy boat that we’re on. All of that good stuff is getting in the way of some real growth and even though it all looks good to our eyes, something has to be cut away.
It’s easy to look at a situation where things are going wrong and be able to say what needs to change. That’s way easy. The more difficult cuts happen when things seem to be all good. That’s when the master gardener has to come in and look at things and diagnose what cuts are going to be most beneficial for the plant to continue its growth pattern. For me, it is quite humbling to think about the fact that no matter what happens I’m not above being cut to make room for something even better. I’m never going to be so holy or so righteous to where God will decide that I’m good enough to let grow on my own. However, it helps me to understand my whole place in this situation. I’m not the one in control. And that is totally okay with me. I think about what would happen if I worked at the Missouri Botanical Garden doing this job. Even I can spot something bad and get rid of it when the time comes. But when I go and see something that looks pretty and is growing well, I’m not going to know which ones need to be pruned. I just see pretty colors. But the people who work there know those plants intimately and know exactly what they need to grow and flourish.
The same thing goes for our Father in heaven. He knows exactly what we need to grow. He knows when it’s time to make a cut that will weed out the decaying parts of our lives as well as the parts that are growing well but need some help to be more productive and fruitful. In the end, the thing that meant the most to me manifested itself in this way. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, you’re going to get cut. Sometimes it will be meant to root out some of the difficult and useless things in your life. Sometimes it will be meant to help better direct the fruit that you are bearing. But no one is above the shears. No one. And I like it that way.
