The Gardener

“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…No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:1-4

I can look at different seasons over the past seven years that produced challenges in my life.  Once I moved out of those seasons I could better determine the areas in which God had worked.  Many times it was areas in my character that dealt with setting boundaries or seeking credit for accomplishments.  The one thing they all have in common is the loving manner in which He handled them.  He revealed the fruit that was bitter and cleaned the fruit that was healthy.  The translation for ‘prune’ in our passage this morning is ‘to clean.’ The object of cleaning fruit is to polish what is already there making it more pleasing.  God polished the good fruit in my life and cut away the bad by applying the fruit of His spirit …love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

It is our human nature to wince at change and dread the troubles that life will produce.  We can be assured that it is through the friction and tension of adversity that the good fruit will be polished and cleaned.  We can be confident that whatever God has taken away will be replaced with the sweetness of new fruit…healthy and fruit to be shared with others.  Change can be both scary and challenging, but the beautiful thing about change is it never stays put.  Seasons come and seasons go and we must allow the Gardener to do the work in the change.  When we allow Him access and be part of it instead of resisting the change our lives will be transformed and others will recognize the work of the Lord in our lives.

‘This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in my love.’ John 15:9-10.