Growing Pains

So we see Jesus as he walks with His disciple. They are passing row after row of grapes. They can see the care takers of the Vineyard as they are busy tending to the plants. They rise up branches, prune others and even cut some of the plants to barely anything left all to maximize the production of the grapes. They want the biggest, sweetest, healthiest grapes that these plants can produce, but they know something that the plant doesn't. If these grape plants are left on their own the will grow big and dense but their fruit will be small, bitter and hard. The other thing is there will be very little fruit.

It is in this place that Jesus looks at His disciples and says, "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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

Jesus, the true vine is the source of everything we need to bear fruit for God. We can't find the strength, character or energy to maintain (or even grow) in our walk with God.

God the Father is the gardener. He desires to make us the best us, we can be. This process isn't easy. God must cut off that which isn't producing fruit. He begins working in the areas of our life that are the most dead. These lifeless, thoughts, attitudes and actions must be removed before we can flourish as productive members of God's kingdom. These dead areas rob the healthy areas of sustenance needed to bear fruit. These sin issues are things that God deals with in a mighty way. He sent His Son to pay the cost and now He is removing them. This can hurt or scare us as God shows us the depth of out wickedness and solidifies our absolute dependence upon the True Vine.

After God cuts away the big dead things in us He will start the pruning process. Pruning involves cutting away the excess in our lives. As a grape vine grows its branches and leaves will grow so dense and tight that they will start choking the life out of good branches. This is much like the business of many Christians today that can't seem to find any extra time in their day to give to God. We find our lives consumed with good things that we never experience the best that God has for us. We are bearing fruit but they are few and far between.

God's desire for you and I is to bear much fruit. This is why James could write, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Paul also wrote about the Fruit that God desires to harvest in our lives when he wrote to the Galatians. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

These 9 qualities are the product that God desires in the lives of all his children. What parent wouldn't?

These qualities all together make one fruit, a disciple of Jesus Christ. Where are you today? Is your life full of dead stuff and in need of a gardener to take control? Or are you producing some fruit and in need of a loving God to set you free to bear more fruit? Or maybe your bearing good fruit but just haven't reached the place where you can say you are bearing much fruit. In this case you need a God who will take you deep into what it means to walk in the Spirit.

God desires to do all of this and more for you. Jesus came to offer a hope of a better today and a brighter tomorrow as He seeks to be the source of your life.