Nature's Pruning Process!

Well, here in the Northeast we’ve had another nor’easter.  Or, as some have called this one, a “Four-Easter”—after all, this week was our fourth nor’easter in the month of March!  Here in Monmouth County, NJ we received about a foot of snow from this last storm.  What a way to welcome spring of 2018!

One of the results of this last storm has been a lot of tree branches down on the ground.  Many of them couldn’t sustain the weight of the heavy snow, snapped, and came crashing down. Here at our church, a couple of pretty big branches from old sycamore trees snapped and fell. Thus, aside from the back-breaking work of shoveling the heavy snow, now homeowners and others need to get to work cutting and removing the fallen branches. 

Branches down at our church!

This morning it crossed my mind that, a storm like this just may be nature’s way of pruning the branches of trees that need to be pruned.  It may be nature’s way of doing for the trees what needs to be done—i.e. removing weak or dead branches so that the rest of the tree may remain strong and healthy.  It’s not easy, neat, or fun, but in the end the pruning process brings great benefit to the tree. Just maybe, a storm like this, as difficult as it is, is good for the trees.

In John 15, Jesus talks about a different kind of pruning process. He says, “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.” (John 15:1-2 – NIV)  Jesus refers to himself as the vine, his followers as the branches, and God the Father as the gardener who does the pruning.  Those branches that are not fruitful are cut off for the good of the rest of the vine. And, the branches that are fruitful still undergo a pruning process so that they might become even more fruitful! 

It’s a painful process. The cutting, the separating, the removal of parts of our lives that need to be pruned away is never easy. Yet God in his grace and mercy comes along with his pruning tools—his Word, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the wise counsel of others, even some of the difficulties (i.e. “storms”) that come our way—and he works to remove from our lives those things that keep us from being as fruitful and productive as we were meant to be. Again, it’s a painful process. Yet, it’s all for our good and for his glory!

So today let me ask you, what things in your life may God need to prune out of your life? What is it that is keeping you from being a fruitful follower of Jesus?  Just maybe some of the things you are currently experiencing in your life are God’s way of pruning you so that you might become so much more than you are today!

Stay connected to the Vine and give your life fully to the Gardener and you will become all that God intends for you to be!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris