Vines

Jesus never said following him would be easy. He never promised a life absolutely filled with rainbows, puppies and sunshine. He said there would be storms, he said things would be hard, he said we would have to be pruned sometimes.

What is this pruning? Pruning is when a vineyard man, I don’t know what the technical term for him is, cuts off bad pieces of the vine, throws them in the fire, attaches what’s left of the newly formed vine to a stronger vine and tethers them together so that they will grow together into a stronger vine that will produce more grapes.

Jesus does this with us. He pulls us out of the weeds we’ve attached ourselves too. He cuts off the bad pieces that are producing sour grapes. He attaches us to the strong vine. His vine. He tethers us to Him so that as we grow, we grow together, and that the fruit we produce is stronger, richer, riper, sweeter, than any other fruit in the vineyard. But it hurts to be the vine. It hurts to have the weeds you’ve made yourself comfortable with torn away from you. It hurts to have your body stripped of the bark that makes you feel secure and cozy. But as soon as the gardener grafts you into the new vine, the new vine, the tears start to fade, and the water from them goes deep into your roots. New bark grows in harmony with the new vine. Bark that is stronger, firmer, deeper. And then after the seasons go by attached to this vine, spring comes and the grapes are giant and juicy and make the sweetest juice.
Pruning hurts. It shakes everything you hold onto and throws it on the ground to be put in the fire. It breaks branches. It removes bark.

But the fruit from the pruning produces the sweetest fruit.

And at the end of pruning season, Jesus takes us by the hand, hands us a great big glass of grape juice, and tells us to look at the vineyard. And as you lift your eyes out, you see the vine has grown. And it’s wrapping around a giant branch shaped like a cross. Forming itself to be more like Jesus.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit….”