Clearing the Ground
The Vine and the Branches
“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."
Psalms 127:1
Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Have you ever planted a garden or watched a farmer clear his fields in preparation for the sowing season?
Recently I walked up the steps of my garden and noticed that my gardener had cleared out a huge swath of decorative plants. I remember the first time she did this. I was appalled! She had just reduced a lush landscape to bare earth. I remember feeling horrified and desolate. However, as I watched over the next few months, the beautiful plants slowly began to return and looked healthier and more lush than before.
She did the same thing in my food garden. I’d had several crops that had just produce and everything in the garden was waning. I came back from work one night to see nothing but bare earth. Now, a few months later, I have green onion, dill, cherry tomatoes, cabbage and peas on my counter waiting to be eaten because she cleared the ground for new growth.
You probably see where I’m going with this. I have the tendency to cling to things. Flowers. Garden plants. Past hopes and dreams or disappointments, failures and regrets. Fruitful things that used to be in my life but have passed their season of fruitfulness. I’m loathe to clear the ground. What if it takes forever to grow something else? What if nothing will grow there ever again? What if I destroy something good in the pursuit of something better? What if all the beauty and sustaining things in my life will be stripped away and I’ll have nothing but my barrenness left and it will have been my fault?
Today, God reminded me that He is a good gardener. He knows when to clear the land and when to plant and just what will bring about the best fruitfulness in my life. My mind was pulled to John 15 which talks about how we can abide in God and He will faithfully work in us like an attentive gardener to bring about good fruit. Just like when I walk past the cleared earth, now devoid of flowers on my pathway, I can rest easy, knowing that He has a bigger plan. I can look at the metaphorically bare patches of earth in my life and know that rich food hides just beneath the dark blanket of soil. Because the gardener was here, that blank ground is just the starting canvas for what He plans to do.
Remember, my dear friends, that unless God builds the house, those who build it build it in vain. But, when God establishes and starts something, He always brings it to completion. That bare earth will soon be a riot of color and taste that will fill you and those around you, all because God cleared the ground and He who began a good thing in your life will certainly carry it on to completion.
*all scripture passage are from the NIV
Comments
Post a Comment