Week Six: FRUIT
Monday / Pruning
Read John 15: 1-8 (NLT)
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
Think
My sister used to have an ancient farmhouse with a grape arbor. The vines were Concord grapes and hadn’t been pruned in years. They were amazingly overgrown, and the few grapes they produced were small. It was obvious the vines needed work. We researched the proper way to prune them: how you had to cut each branch back to five or six buds; how the non-fruiting branches must be cut away, thrown in a pile and burned so that any diseases they carried wouldn’t spread to the healthy vines. It was hard work, and when we had finished the pruning, there was very little left of the original vines. We looked at each other in concern—had we gone too far?
But the following summer, they grew beautifully. Where they had been weak and spindly, now the vines were robust and healthy. Their leaves were lush and green and there was no sign of disease. Best of all, that autumn we had so many bushels of grapes we were able to give them away.
To be useful for God, I need to be robust and healthy, too. I can’t produce good fruit if I am weak and spindly. Sometimes there is pruning that needs to be done. Some things in my life are unhealthy for me and must be cut away if I am to grow well. Only by allowing God to prune away the disease of sin in my life can I be truly fruitful.
Pray
Great Gardener of my soul, you alone know what’s best for me to grow: what soil I need, how much water, which branches to prune. Help me to be a willing partner with you in the care of my life. Remind me to go to you for guidance. Cover my life with your grace and love, that I may grow into the person you would have me become. Amen.
Do
Consider visiting a vineyard. Maybe there’s one nearby where you live? Do some online research. Plan a trip. Or do a virtual tour. A simple Google search will give you a long list of sites to visit. Pay close attention to the vines and how they grow. Remember without pruning those vines won’t produce fruit. Thank God that God cares enough about you to prune you, too.
The View from Mt. Hope 