“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)
Years ago, I helped my father-in-law plant acres and acres of watermelons. Five seeds to a hill . . . hill after hill after hill. My back was sore from bending, and my hands had blisters from hoeing, but before I knew it, tiny plants were peeking out of the mounds of warm soil and showered by just the right amount of rain. Each stem was dark green and healthy, and I envisioned watermelons by the thousands, ready to be picked and eaten!
As we looked over the fields, my father-in-law made an odd request: “Now that we have our plants growing in each mound, you need to go to each hill and thin it down to just two. Leave the two strongest healthy plants and pull up the other ones.” I was dumbfounded! Prune all the work I did by pulling up all but two of the healthy plants? After I worked so hard to get them to grow?
That request made no sense to me. After all, I reasoned, the more plants you have, the more watermelons you will harvest. I just couldn’t do it. I decided on my own to pull up only one plant from each hill and leave the rest. I was working long and hard when I looked up and saw my father-in-law watching me with a “she needs a lesson on watermelons” smile on his face.
“Child,” he said, “there is a good reason to pull up all but two plants. If you leave all the plants in the watermelon hill, they will crowd each other out. You will have several vines, but none will be strong and healthy enough to produce really good watermelons.”
He continued, “They will compete for the moisture, for the sunshine. All your work will be for nothing.” So, head bowed, I retraced all my steps and followed his directions exactly as he had instructed me.
What a great application in life and a perfect visual example of John 15:1-2. As Christians living in a world that is not our home, we must stay connected to Christ if we want to grow in our faith. And if we truly want to produce “fruit,” we must be “pruned” to remove those things that may keep us from growing spiritually.
Sometimes, too many really “good things” are competing for our attention. Maybe it’s leading music at church, teaching a Sunday school class, and writing for the church paper. - all at the same time.
Other times, it could be “not so good things” that compete: late-night card games every Saturday that keep you from attending church on Sunday, or choosing to scroll through your phone for hours when your daughter has asked you to play volleyball with her.
In order to have a healthy relationship with Jesus, which carries over to a healthy relationship with our family and friends, we have to allow pruning. Is it necessary? Absolutely. Removing whatever crowds out our focus on Jesus has to occur for our lives to be productive and an example of Him to the world around us. Can it hurt? Yes, but it must happen to make sure our relationship with the Lord is grounded in Him, our foundation that will never fail or fall apart.
My encouragement is to ask the Lord to show you any area or habit in your life that needs pruning. He will do exactly that. Then, just like pruning the watermelons, remove anything that competes with your relationship with Jesus. The result is worth the pruning.
Lord, I want to be your servant. Show me everything in my life that needs to be pruned so I can truly live for you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
Do you find yourself exhausted and drained at the end of the week because of all the activities you have been involved in every day?
How many of those activities honor God, and how many need to be pruned?
Apply
Journal everything you do for 5 days. Make two columns: Keep and Prune.
How many of your activities point to the life of a Christian, and how many should be pruned to help you grow in your walk with Jesus? Let the pruning begin!
Power
John 15:1-2 (NIV) “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.”
Psalm 119:36-37 (NIV) “Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”
Isaiah 40:31 (NIV) “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
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