I can’t believe it’s already March! Easter is just around
the corner, and then after that, warmer weather will soon follow, and you know
what that means! Now is the time for pruning! You may not realize this, but the
bible teaches us a lot about gardening, and especially the importance of
pruning. Unfortunately, we don’t have a vineyard at our home, but we do have
several bushes and plants that require annual pruning in order to retain their
splendor later in the year when it comes time to bloom and grow.
We have four bird of paradise plants in our front
yard that I cut completely back every February, while it’s still chilly outside,
and just before the weather starts to warm. I didn’t do this at first though,
not until we had the plants for a few seasons. The first few years after we
planted them, we didn’t prune them, and they just got over grown and ugly. As
time went on, the next season they didn’t produce as much growth and those
beautiful red and yellow blooms never came in the spring and summer. Well,
after a year or two of leaving them alone, I decided to take a gardeners advice
and prune them down to nothing in the late winter. Low and behold, as soon as
the weather warmed, they took off and grew and produced the most beautiful
flowers in the coming spring and summer. So every year, I prune them, I cut
them down to nothing and it works every time!
Jesus often used
metaphors in his parables and lessons, and many of those revolved around
plants. I know they say he was a carpenter by trade, but I really think he was
also adept at gardening as well! Take a look at this verse from the John 15;
“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.
To God, our lives
are just like the vines in the vineyard. There are parts of our lives that
occasionally need to be cut off or pruned away, in order to allow us to produce
or bear fruit and grow more productive. Are there any parts of your life that
need to be pruned? Perhaps it could be a bad habit you might have or a negative
attitude, or maybe it could be the quality of your worship time with God.
Whatever the case may be, open your heart to God and let him help you decide
what it is that needs to be pruned in your life, and you might find to your
surprise that just like the flowers or vines, your life will regain its
splendor and bear fruit as an even greater blessing because of it.
Happy Easter!
Dave