The Vinedresser
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.” John 15:2-3 csb
I was recently pruning my Spanish lavender bushes in the front yard. As I cut back the branches, I started thinking about how healthy this process is for the plant. It had grown too large, spilling over into other flowers in the garden bed, so I was able to reshape it. I’m sure the lavender didn’t enjoy the shears as they sliced through, but it was for its own good to prevent overgrowth, reduce disease, and encourage more blooms. And the more it blooms, the more it attracts pollinators and provides food for the praying mantises that call it home.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that our Father in heaven is the gardener, the One who tends the vineyard. When He sees dead or diseased branches, He removes them. And when He finds a branch that is producing fruit, He prunes it. That may sound counterintuitive, but any vinedresser, orchard worker, or experienced gardener will tell you that pruning a fruitful branch actually leads to greater growth and more abundant fruit.
Pruning doesn’t always feel good or even seem right, but the Lord knows what is healthy and what is not. Things I think are good can, over time, become harmful. There are even things I may allow to grow in my life that lead to sin and spiritual decay. So the Lord, in His wisdom, may remove certain activities, relationships, or even a career for the sake of my spiritual health. I may not enjoy the process, but the result is strength and longevity in my walk with Him. Perhaps you’ve recently experienced pruning in your spiritual life. Take heart because the Gardener, your Heavenly Father, removes what would ultimately bring harm. Like the lavender, it is for our good, so that we may continue to bear healthy, lasting fruit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.” — Galatians 5:22–23 (CSB)
Agape,
Frank
His Mercy Is More
…The faces of the cherubim were looking toward the mercy seat. Exodus 37:9 csb
A ship at sea can be powerful, well-built, and fully equipped, but if it’s pointed in the wrong direction, it will never reach its destination. Even being just a few degrees off course might not seem like much at first, but over time it leads the ship miles away from where it needs to be. That’s why sailors constantly check their bearing, realigning themselves with true north, using the stars to accurately face the right heading.
In the same way, the cherubim over the mercy seat were fixed, facing the place where God’s mercy was revealed. They weren’t turned outward to be distracted; they were oriented toward the very presence of God’s throne. It was at the mercy seat that God’s presence descended and provided mercy to His people. The cherubim served as an image for Israel to look to where they were facing, the throne of God. It is there at the mercy seat the blood of the sacrifice would be sprinkled, and God would provide atonement (covering) for the nations sins. Forgiveness could come from nowhere else.
The world attempts to draw us in, promising to cure whatever is plaguing us. But you will be off course, lost, never reaching your destination if you seek covering from the world. The author of Hebrews makes the case for Christ that He is the One to whom we must look. It is at the throne of Christ on which we are to fix our gaze. At His mercy seat, we find not only answers, but forgiveness and grace. No one else is coming to save us He is it, and He has already come providing atonement for our sins. Some, perhaps even you, feel you cannot come to God because of your sin. You think it’s too great and God can not forgive. It is for that great sin Christ died to cover! Therefore, Hebrews 4:16 tells us “to approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
It is to the mercy seat that we run when life knocks us off course. It is to the mercy seat that we go when we feel lost and without hope. It is to the mercy seat that we run when we have sinned, erred, and need forgiveness. Because of Jesus’ completed work on the cross of Calvary, we can not only come to Him, but run to Him! It is there that we find mercy and grace meeting us in our time of need.
Agape,
Frank