Sips From the Saucer

John 15:1-2 | “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He ^[a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

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I have never been much of a plant person or gardener. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of plants and gardens, but my thumb is definitely not green. I think this is why for so long the richness of these verses has been lost on me. I haven’t understood the deep meaning behind this analogy of vines and branches, fruit and pruning, until the Lord made my life a living object lesson of this sacred Scripture.

In these two verses we see two types of branches: the first, branches that do not bear fruit, and second, every other branch that does bear fruit. It is an either/or situation; a branch either bears fruit of it doesn’t. But this passage is about more than fruitfulness, it is about the relationship between the Vinedresser and the branches; the Master Gardener who tends to the ones growing in Him. For the branch that doesn’t bear fruit, He takes it away and for the one that does bear fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

The real life object lesson that I am in with the Vinedresser is all about pruning. Man oh man is that a painful process. To have things cut away, stripped from your normal every day routine. To have things taken out of your life that were good and enjoyable, fulfilling and special. Pruning can easily lead to questioning and doubting the goodness of God if we aren’t careful to know and trust the Master Gardener.

I am learning the process of pruning is complex and so intricate. It is a hands-on operation between the Creator of the universe and us. He reaches into our lives and intimately shifts and cuts, shapes and cares for us. It is individualized and specialized care. The beauty and profound love of this interaction cannot be understood by us, but we can worship in appreciation and admiration.

Those things that are pruned can be sinful in nature, things of the world that have crept in and threaten to stifle the things of the Lord. The Lord is faithful to prune out what is a danger to the harvest of good fruit that He desires to grow. Pruning can also be about cutting away good things to make room for more effective, healthier growth and better fruit in the harvest.

Sometimes pruning comes so that the Lord can reorder the things that remain and bring about a time of refreshment.

This is where I am … learning that pruning isn’t necessarily negative, it is just plain necessary. Learning that heavy pruning produces the best fruit. Even in my limited knowledge of plants, this makes sense. Cutting away extra pieces and parts so that the pieces and parts that remain get more nourishment, more nutrients, more of the good things that make them grow. When pieces and parts are cut away, the energy is concentrated to those remaining pieces so that growth in those areas is enhanced. The hurt and confusion comes when we see what the Master Gardener chooses to cut away. Because sometimes the things He chooses to prune aren’t the things we want to let go of.

However, when we submit ourselves to the process, allowing the Vinedresser to care for us as He sees fit, for our good and His glory, we realize that His ways are better than our own. His plans are perfect and He is completely trustworthy. When we allow Him to prune those pieces of our plant that He desires to cut away, we are left with a healthier, happier branch that has a path for new growth and better fruit. His plans are for an abundant harvest and I am learning that no matter how much I enjoy pieces of my branch, I would much rather submit to His pruning process.

I can say this because I love and trust the Vinedresser. As I continue to grow in Him, I can remember His goodness and His kindness toward His branches. He is patient and faithful to work in us and through us to bring us to the place He desires for us to be. And His plans for us are always good. The pruning process might not feel good, but it produces good things in our lives.

I am grateful for God’s involvement in my life – I would be a scraggly branch with no direction or fruit without Him, overtaken by thorns and worldly weeds, broken and tossed about by the storms of life. But in Him, IN HIM, we have abundant life and abundant fruit no matter the season we are in.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
² But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers

Psalm 1:1-3

So this is where I abide, where I dwell, where I sit in the middle and wait for what is next. Because I also know that new growth takes time and God enjoys the growing process. He enjoys being our Vinedresser, shaping us and giving us life through living water. He enjoys the relationship of vine and branch: connectedness, closeness, an intertwining of life and desire and purpose and plans. And I really enjoy that too. More than anything else.

The pieces and parts of my branch, He can have them all. He is Lord, Master, my God in whom I trust. My prayer is that you can say the same.

If you have questions or need a listening ear, a fellow branch to offer community and fellowship, reach out. We can grow together.