The Pruning Shears

“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

It was about this time twenty years ago, I underwent a grueling (but lifesaving) bone marrow transplant—a last resort (that worked, praise God!) in a battle against a resistant form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

And after a two-month stay at UCSF Medical Center, I was so happy to go home!

I remember that day well.

It was warm—the weather was beautiful. I slid the back door open and stepped outside to quite a sight.

There before me was the pruned-back remains of what once was a sprawling, beautiful apple tree.

Its leaves had been full and lush and, man, was it ever fruitful! Sweet apples everywhere! It was really a joy to look at.

But now…

There in its place, stood just a few ugly sawn-off stumps. All that luscious life that once surrounded it, now cut away.

A friend of ours had been trimming his own trees and offered his services; and I must say, he did a very thorough job.

That tree had been PRUNED.

And strangely, I felt kind of a kindred spirit with that once vibrant tree.

I looked at those barren stumps and thought, Lord, that’s me—that’s my life right now.

Everything’s been cut away.

No energy, no ministry, no usefulness. When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t recognize my former self.

Just like the tree.

No fruit, no leaves, no nothin’.

It was still alive, but you’d never know it by looking at it.

And although pruning can appear brutal, dramatic as it always is, it does have amazing beneficial results.

According to Siri 😉 pruning is the selective removal of damaged, dead, non-productive, or structurally unsound growth from a plant in an effort to stimulate growth and make it more healthy and more fruitful.

Hmmm. (You see where this is going, right?)

Now, our Jesus loved to use illustrations (better known as parables). And He’s got a good one about pruning, doesn’t He?

Here in John 15, the Lord uses this horticultural practice to describe how God works in the lives of those who follow Christ.

Jesus is the vine—the source of our lives, and it’s through the life-giving sap of His Holy Spirit that we produce spiritual fruit: good works, acts of repentance, and character qualities like biblical love, joy and peace. 

In short, from our union with Christ, our Christian life flows. And now a heads up about a painful process God sometimes uses to keep us healthy, productive and effective for Him.

Just like a gardener who cares for his grapevines and wants them vibrant and disease-free, full of luscious fruit; our Father prunes back parts of our hearts and lives that are ultimately detrimental to us and His good purposes.

So from time to time, out come the pruning shears.

Barb and I just put in some tomato plants and removed some of the suckers—yes, that’s what they’re called, as many of you know.

Branches that suck up the nutrients, block sunshine from the rest of the plant, and all without producing any fruit!

And what Christian doesn’t have to deal with sucker branches! Worthless distractions, worldly ambitions and self-serving attitudes that divert time and energy only to end in fruitless endeavors. (Or worse.)

So out come His shears and things get lopped off. And that’s a good thing!

Fallen creatures that we are, we are vulnerable to worldly blight, damage, and pests; and God knows exactly what things need to be excised and how to stimulate healthy new growth.

And I say, Better the painful snip of His shears than a comfortable, but derailed Christian life.

We know (by faith) spiritual pruning is productive, but that doesn’t mean we enjoy the process.

Pruning can make for some very sad, lonely, humiliating and awkward seasons of life—no question about it.

But He who loves us best, and knows us better than we know ourselves, is incapable of erring when it comes to overseeing His garden, our lives.

And remember: the Hands that hold those shears have scars—scars that demonstrate a love that can be trusted.

God is as wise as He is good. And so far, He’s never had to say, “Whoops!”

So sometimes it’s relationships that gets whacked. And oftentimes only He knows why.

And sometimes it’s well-intentioned but misguided ambitions that get vetoed, or unrealistic hopes that were more fanciful wishes than God’s good will.

And then there’s a habit that seems perfectly fine to us, but our Lord thinks otherwise.

Whatever He’d like to be trimmed out of our lives, however near and dear (or painful), we trust our Father who promises to work it all for our good and for His glory.

So.

Eight months following that devastating pruning called cancer, a tiny shoot sprouted and began to grow.

Calvary Chapel, The Rock. 

The painful process put us in a different frame of mind which led to a different trajectory in ministry—we’d plant a new church.

But God knew the church would need a pastor (and his wife) who could understand trauma and heartbreak and fear.  Hearts that could sympathize with people who suffer.

And how better to know how to comfort others than to go through some misery yourself, and come through it by God’s grace.

And how better to learn about life-sustaining hope, and where to find true comfort, and all about the faithfulness of God than walking through the valley and finding Him there?

The Rock has been wildly fruitful these twenty years, and not without its own fair share of pruning, like most churches. But the same redemptive principles apply wherever His pruning shears have been active!

Greater health and fruitfulness and a fresh stimulus for new growth!

Here’s the best advice I can give you plants of the Lord, taken from brother Job, someone who was pruned back more than any other. 

Job exclaimed: “The Lord gives and He takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” Job 1:21

Trust God. He keeps His promises. He takes away, so that He can give.

“And the LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.” Job 42:12

God knows what He’s doing with your life.

He’s good.

So keep a watchful eye, my friends, for those tender shoots of new life.