The story of the vine and the branches is one of the more recognized parables from Scripture. This lesson on pruning sounds harsh and painful, but as every master gardener will admit, it is imperative to the outcome. I never understood this concept until reading about the process in the once popular book by Bruce Wilkinson called The Secrets of the Vine. I was fascinated by his description of the pruning practice.
I love to garden and by February I am eager to plant the seeds and get them started indoors, anticipating warmer weather and the perfect time to plant the seedlings outside. Once they germinate and have grown an inch or two, the process begins. Thinning the crop is so hard to do. But I know from experience, if I don't do it few of the sprouts will flourish.
The parallel Jesus is drawing between vines and branches and our relationship with God is an eye opener. When I think to a time I would consider as my pruning season, I am reminded of a challenging period when I was learning how to change my ways. I can see now that God was doing the work of a gardener and cutting away all the dead foliage. He was removing the dried up branches and throwing them into the fire so new growth would appear.
Come to think of it, I did not develop my love of gardening until after I grew in my faith; until I cultivated my personal relationship with Jesus. Once pruned and tended by the One who can make all things grow up strong, gardening became a passion for me. Have you experienced a period of pruning?
2 comments:
I love this! :)
Thanks to both of you for continuing to post to the blog. I read it as often as possible and it lifts me up for the day!
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