Pruning (part 3) It is God’s Garden

Grace for All

John 15:2

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.

Today in the final piece of this little series, let’s consider who is doing the pruning. In the first two parts, I have considered first my own knowledge and second my actions in pruning myself and my world. Now I must consider the relationship between myself and God. May God’s will be done not mine!

Some seem to garden to impose order and control over the chaos of nature. Every plant is symmetrical, and every line is straight. This is not my garden. I prefer to let the plants grow where they may. I might shape or set an outside boundary, but some look at my garden and find it a mess.

If you garden like I do, you hate to dig up bulbs or iris that have become overgrown and throw them away as waste. I try to find a new spot to plant them or give them away. I know that the plants will be healthier and more productive once I thin and prune. I know that once a plant has spread and spread that it leaves no room for others, yet I hesitate. Do I hesitate and resist because I don’t want to harm the plant? Do I not want to limit its beauty? Or, do I hesitate because I feel like I am losing something I possess? Do I feel like I am losing value, something I control? In other words, am I being a willful child in the face of God’s will?

As John 15 continues, Jesus states that God will throw all that is not productive on the fire. I know that at my worst moments, I would like to decide what gets thrown in the fire. I would like to decide who is not productive. I would like to think that I am righteous and do not need pruned while others do. Ironically, one of the things God had to prune from me was my desire to judge whether others are productive.

It is hard work letting go and accepting rebirth. Christ had to die in order to be resurrected to forgive our sins. We should welcome the opportunity to be reshaped, renewed, and pruned by the will of God. We should be willing to change and move closer to God. We should be flexible and guided by the Holy Spirit. But are we? Let God prune away all that is not productive and throw it on the fire. The hard work is to not control but to allow God to shape us. Let new growth of habits that benefit us and those around us form as a new season begins. Let our new vines be trained in new habits that “remain in the vine” nourished by God.

Knowing what to ignore, when to be silent, when not to act, is as important, perhaps more important, than knowing when to acknowledge, speak, or act. A silent look into the eyes of another at just the right moment can mean more than any words or actions taken. A small act at just the right time does not need attention or words to make it the perfect action. The seed that it plants will lead to abundant fruits in the future.

So let us pray today with thanksgiving.

May we study and learn the ways of a productive life in Christ. May this be followed by a season of labor where we act with discernment led by the Holy Spirit. But perhaps most important of all may the Lord, prune away what we do not need. May we allow God’s will to shape and prune us into the hands and feet that work in the world that God has given us to love.

Today’s devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Joey Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.