God, the Gardener

John 15: 1, 2

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. (NIV)

A grapevine symbolizes God’s work on this earth. In this famous passage, Jesus Christ is the vine and God the Father is the gardener. We, the believers are the branches. We are fruitful branches if we are true Christians living out our faith. Through our Christian living, if we are able to accomplish God’s purposes, then we are pruned furthermore so we would bear much fruit. Fruitful living is not just restricted to adding souls to God’s Kingdom. It also means living in communion with the Lord, filled with joy of Heaven and overflowing with love for others.

On the flipside, God, the Gardener cuts off every branch that does not bear fruit. Sounds harsh, but if we have experienced God’s goodness but still choose to live in the world, we might not be fruitful. We are not burdened for God’s hurting children. We are not completely entwined with our true vine Jesus, but are seeking out other branches to latch onto. We not only are unproductive but if we are by accident producing some fruit, we might be yielding sour grapes. Therefore, God cuts off such branches so that they do not obstruct the growth of the healthy vine.

Our lives may be filled with areas that don’t bear fruit. There may be people in our lives who might have been stumbling blocks, thereby, stunting our healthy growth. God, our Gardener, trims such areas in our lives. He takes away people from our lives or we move out of the picture which we’ve felt were part of a perfect picture for a long time. God knows when, where, how and why such kind of trimming is necessary. Let us not be disheartened but trust His judgement. All it matters is if we are fruitful. Are we being nourished or our lives being choked up?  What are our priorities? Pleasing God or pleasing people? If we bear fruit, then God is glorified. Shouldn’t that be reason enough for us to be subjective to God’s pruning and trimming?