God is a Gardener

I’ve been working out in my garden a little lately. It’s been nice weather and I want to get a head start at cleaning up my front flower bed this year. One thing I was pleasantly surprised to see was that my bleeding heart is still alive! Bleeding hearts are special to our family so I was happy to see that even though it looked like it had withered up and completely died by the end of fall, literally all I could see was a single stick poking out of the ground, new life came again! (Again one of the reasons this plant is special to me)

THEN, I noticed my cherry tree was blossoming! We have several different fruit trees on our property, but we’ve never done much to really care for them, until last year. There were several shoots coming out from the base of the tree and from the ground all around it, and I could tell they were sucking all the life from my fruit-bearing branches. It did give fruit last year, but I don’t think it was very good. We pruned back all the overgrowth and I have a feeling our harvest will be sweet this year!

Did you know God is a gardener? I think it’s probably one of His favorite hobbies. He makes the most beautiful plants and flowers and creates the perfect conditions for plants to thrive. He even sets background “music”, making a peaceful setting with the wind rustling through the trees and birds singing. And then He gets to weeding and pruning. I never realized how important pruning is until I saw the fruit of my own labor. This little tree, I think it might be a Japanese Maple?) was barely surviving with it’s few dead branches. But again, after pruning just a few places last year, just look how much new life there is!

God speaks about gardening and uses agricultural references probably more than anything else. Likely because it’s so universal. Anyone in the world, at any time through the ages, can understand the world in reference to growing and planting. But also because it’s the perfect picture for us as His children, the family of God. The Jewish people are part of God’s chosen family tree, and the gentiles are adopted, grafted in, and all by faith. But plants need pruning, or else they don’t produce fruit. Or they die all together. 

John 15:2-5

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. [3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. [4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. [5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Some people get confused by these passages, thinking it means you can lose your salvation. But once we are in the family, we are in. We will always be forever His children. What the passage is talking about is weeding out the unfruitful parts of our lives. The things that drain all the life from us and take away time and energy from the important things. If we fail to prune these things from our lives, sometimes God will do it for us.

Like with my bleeding heart, I thought it was completely gone forever, but God was working below the surface. Sometimes, Though, He will let us go right on until the bad parts take over the good. Like my little Japanese Maple that stood lifeless for years.

Sometimes even a Christian can bear absolutely no fruit, and have nothing to show for their lives. And sometimes God might even take them home early, cutting that vine off to help the others. But hopefully we learn to do a little pruning ourselves. To weed out overgrowth that got a little out of hand, and take time to nurture our fruit bearing branches. And one day we’ll suddenly see beautiful blossoms where there were none before and realize what a difference a little pruning can make, like my cherry tree!

The pruning process in our lives is never easy. It’s even painful. But it’s necessary if we want to live in the will of God. Jesus wants us to abide in Him. If we want to blossom and grow, we must. Which will take a little pruning. And it’s a lifelong process! We never arrive! I’m always finding new little shoots coming up in my life that I need to cut out. But it is a process. I just want to make sure I keep abiding in Him and working on it every day, with His help. Because it’s definitely way more difficult when I leave the pruning all up to Him. Praise God for all the things He teaches us, and the long suffering patience and grace He shows us! 

God, is a gardener. It all started in the beginning with a garden. He plants us and waters us and prunes us, and is looking for us to bear fruit. He wants us to spend time in His garden, with Him. To plant ourselves by His rivers of water and drink deep.

Genesis 8:22 – “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 – “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: [2] a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;”

Song of Solomon 2:11-13 – “For, lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone; [12] The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle Is heard in our land; [13] The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, And the vines with the tender grape Give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

Isaiah 60:21 – “Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.”

Psalm 126:5-6 – “They that sow in tears Shall reap in joy. [6] He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

1 Corinthians 3:7 – “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” 

Isaiah 61:3 – “to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”