'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 15:2 NIV)
I am not a gardener; I've never had experience growing something with vines and branches, much less anything that required cutting and pruning to keep healthy and productive. I am, though, painfully aware that in my life right now I am being pruned by God.A good friend of mine gave me a Slinky yesterday, that inexplicable toy of joy from my childhood that doesn't require an owner's manual or parental help to use...I can just pick it up and get to the joy of what it produces. Part of the dynamics "behind the fun," obviously, is the tension that creates the motion of the Slinky in use...a part of me has to be aware of it in my hands and what I am doing with my hands in order to create the joy. So, what does a Slinky have to do with pruning? Well, to me, it seems as if I would have to know what I plan to do with the pruning shears in my hand before I begin to cut away at the vine and branches before me...otherwise, I may not get the results (fruitful growth) that I desire for the plants before me.
So, too, it must be with God and me right now. He knows exactly what He wants to prune in me. Me? I'm not too sure what's going on - a part of me is afraid of someone coming at me with God-sized pruning shears and aiming for places in me and my life I don't want to have cut away. Some of these branches are just gnarly, overgrown, hazardous to the health of the vine, etc. Plants obviously need (desire) light, air, soil, water, along with good nutrients and care to grow and prosper. If I am spending too much time in the dark, away from fresh air, have stopped tilling the soil of my heart, am parched and hungry for the goodness of God, His Word, and the amazing talents of His transformation in my life, well...it's no wonder that the branches - to some extent - have stopped becoming fruitful.
His shears are handled deftly, accurately, with grace, mercy and love...they are pruning away such dead branches as my love affairs with pot and pornography. He is cutting away at such toxic branches in me of laziness to work, arrogance, and deceit. Right now, it feels as if God is clipping away at some thick, twisted branches of loneliness and loss of desire that have wrapped themselves dangerously around the root of my heart that, unless taken away, have the potential to do some great damage. I believe God knows that His pruning hurts me. I also believe that He loves me enough to hurt me a little to help me a lot.
Part of why the pruning season hurts so much right now is that I don't want to see some of these branches go. Just as I could help the overall life, growth and productivity of any plant by doing the positive things to it, I can also help create the unfruitful branches, too, by feeding them what they need to grow. This doesn't help the plant (me)...and any good gardener (a Master one, of course) would immediately feel led to prune whatever must be cut in order to save the plant. No gardener wants to see any plant die, just as I believe that God does not want to see any one of His creation miss the opportunity to return to Him and His love. Sadly, some plants die because they were not pruned. Even more sad is the reality that some of us in this world may suffer because of the inability to allow God in.
As the pruning season continues, I experience both the pain of the cuts and the healing that comes from them. I experience in all of this the tension of watching/feeling those unhealthy parts of me being taken out of me by God for a greater purpose (growth...being fruitful) and somehow knowing that something amazing will be happening as new branches are given space to grow.
Sort of like putting the Slinky at the top of the staircase and watching it walk itself down one step at a time...the man in me stands next to the boy in me and marvels in wonder, 'How does it do that?'
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