John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains [abides] in Me, and I in him bears much fruit
John 15:2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
I was listening to a sermon today that talked about the necessity of learning to abide in Christ personally and corporately. Then it mentioned that when we abide, we will be pruned. My mind immediately went to my begonia plants that manage to stay alive inside over the winter. I pu
t them where they get as much sun as possible, but it’s never a much as they like or need to really prosper. No thanks to me, they do manage to bloom some even inside. About this time each year, I have the joy of taking them outside for a breath of fresh air and direct sunlight. It’s such a joy to know they have survived, but with close inspection, it becomes apparent that some branched have died and need to be cut away. Other branches have gotten long and thin as they have tried to get more sunlight. I cut off, prune, these branches. If healthy enough, I put them in a glass of water to root and then stick them back in the pot later to fill in the empty spaces left by the dead bits I cleared out at the beginning of spring. Before long, I know the whole pot will be full and healthy and blooming and beautiful.
When we begin to abide in Christ, He does cut the dead stuff away but that isn’t what really hurts. When we continue to abide, He begins to cut the leggy, thin things, which have been reaching out to get whatever we think we need from somewhere else; the things that keep us from growing strong and bearing more fruit. Bearing – not producing. Bearing – being strong enough branches to be able to hold (bear) more fruit. He never wants the weight of the fruit to break the branch. So, I have to trust that He knows when and how much to prune so that I will be able to bear all the wonderful things He wants to produce through my branch.
All that fits with the imagery of the vine and the branches, but it wouldn’t leave my mind that even I can’t bring myself to just through away all the thin part of the branch that I prune. I can’t imagine God would ever throw away anything that was “good” or still having the potential to grow into a healthy plant. Of the stems I prune, I examine them to see if any part of them might still have potential and if so, I put them in water to see if they will root. Here is where my thoughts go in two directions. First, I can trust if there is anything good in what He prunes from me that He will revive it and give it back to me if it’s healthy and good for me. Somehow it gives me a different perspective on what He prunes from me and my life. Some things are not dead or deadly but just things that drain my resources or keep me from becoming able to bear fruit. But if they are ever able to be a healthy thing for me, then “He withholds no good thing” (Psalm 84:11).
Second, I was thinking about corporate abiding and pruning. Some people come and go from our local family of God. I can trust God to be a good and faithful vine dresser knowing who needs to be where and at what time and for how long and if it would be good for them to be planted in our “pot” once again…or maybe they were just needed to make another pot as full and beautiful as ours or even start another pot!
Bottom line I can trust Him if my life or my church looks like a gangly, wintered-over, potted plant, or a closely trimmed plant with no blooms, or a bushy plant in full bloom. I can trust that all His actions are for my, or our, welfare. Even in my wintering-over times, God has always seen the beautiful plant He will have in me (and well worth the dead blooms and leaves on the floor that have to be cleaned up). And He has always seen what a healthy abundant family fellowship my local church will be in Him.
And it just occurred to me that in the winter season, many things die and fall off these plants; old blooms, leaves, and even stems. In the winter season, the season of lack, the dead things are revealed and often just go away. Maybe it takes a tough season to show me what is really important and where I just need to let those other things go.
I’ll stop there before my mind goes on another rabbit trail. Hopefully, God will use something in this to encourage you in your walk with our faithful, trustworthy Heavenly Father.