The Good Gardener
As soon as Spring arrives, doesn’t it feel as if the earth is bursting with excitement and expectation for all that will come forth during the season? Our focus shifts to creation as it prepares to bloom, flourish and bless all who would recognize its beauty. If you are a gardener, you know just how important it is to thoughtfully tend to your treasured garden. A skilled gardener is in tune to exactly what each plant needs in order to flourish: the amount of water and nutrients the soil needs, how and when to prune, and how to keep harmful predators away. A patient gardener tenderly works to bring out the fullness of each plant’s potential and beauty.
Did you know that in John 15, Jesus names God the Father as The Gardener (Vinedresser)? It says in John 15:1-2: “I [Jesus] am the true Vine, and my Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
The one desire and purpose of any gardener is that their garden would bear fruit in abundance. Just like a gardener wants their garden to produce much fruit, so God desires for His people to produce bountiful fruit.
“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” John 15:8.
The Fruit of the Spirit is what distinguishes our lives as Christ-followers. God uses the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives to bless and benefit those around us.
Galatians 5:22 describes the Fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Many of us desire and strive for the Fruit of the Spirit to be evident in our own lives. This noble desire, however, can easily turn into anxious thoughts surrounding whether or not we are doing enough for God. In these spaces, we tend to try to produce fruit for God in our lives, by our own strength.
When we make the mistake of trying to produce fruit in our own strength to please God, we miss the point of Christ’s call to bear good fruit in John 15.
But the Good News is this: the Word of God makes it clear that our life, fruit and flourishing is dependent on us abiding in Christ; our nearness to the True Vine. Jesus calls us to remain and abide in Him as a branch clings to its vine. We do this in a daily, intimate relationship with God; loving Him and obeying His commandments.
Our inability to produce good fruit apart from God is actually great news! It brings us to the end of ourselves and serves as an opportunity for us to draw near to God. Here, we recognize that our dependence on God is our very Life.
As disciples of Christ, our fruit is a beautiful symbol of our nearness to God. The journey to fruitfulness is a faithful act of remaining attached to The Source of Life, trusting that God is transforming in every season.
God as the Gardener, Christ as the Vine, us as the branches. The Fruit bearing witness to His goodness and love for us. This is the very thing Christ is asking of us. Remain, abide, trust.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” Jeremiah 17:7-8.