Its been a
while since I’ve written a blog so thought Id let you know what’s been going on
in my mind and heart recently.
As I’ve been preparing the sermon series for
Newtownbreda, called “Your #1
Relationship”, based on John 15 (catch
the first 2 parts here - select the Archive tab). I’ve been
inevitably thinking long and hard about the analogy that Jesus uses - the vine and the branches.
Not really knowing
much about vineyards, not surprisingly I’ve had to do some research. There was
always connection and pruning. Jesus tells us that true Christians are like
branches who are connected to him as the vine. We draw our life, our vitality
from him. Its easy to appear to be connected and yet not be. But true life and true
fruit comes from real connection. Then there had to be pruning.
The branches would have to be ruthlessly and
constantly pruned in order to bring forth the glorious fruit. The branches
would never be left alone but they would be cut back, pared, thinned, nipped,
topped in a deliberate conscious, intentional act of the gardener. Sometimes,
the gardener would even prune off some small fruit in order to get better fruit
a few years later. It was a very organised and highly skilled process.
When the
glorious ripe fruit finally appeared, the passers-by and lookers-on would have
been amazed and said “what a great gardener to get such fruit”. The praise would
go to the gardener not to the fruit. It would have been his skill and his
diligence that would have been praised.
Jesus said
that if you are a Christian you will be need to be pruned in order that you
might give a great vintage and so that your life will bring glory to your
Heavenly gardener. This process is going on even now. It might be small things,
irritants in your life with which you are going to have to learn how to handle.
It might be bigger things, decisions and relationships which are teaching you
lessons or it might be massive stuff going on right now, which has the
potential to break you – or the potential to bring forth glorious fruit in your
life. Clip, clip, clip, the Heavenly Gardener is at His work pruning you right
now.
I wonder
have you noticed that? I'm trying to learn it – to be more conscious to see God
in every thing in my life. I'm a slow learner so he often has to repeat his
lessons and step up his pruning process. Why wouldn’t he? He knows this is my
#1 relationship – and so its worth His effort in my life.
