Philippians 1:6
Philippians 1:6 NIV 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. NIV:
End of summer and back to school time always seem to go hand in hand with new clothes! I remember my Mom sewing up a new plaid jumper for my first day of school. Of course my brother got new pants for the first day back. But after wearing shorts all summer when he tried on the same size, they were always about 4 inches too short.! I never understood how he could grow so much in a summer. He also suffered with what the Dr. called ‘growing pains.’ Apparently it’s a real thing because my boys did the same thing, shorts all summer, pains in the legs, way too short pants for back to school. The pain of adolescence.
I know we go through the same ‘growth spurts’ in our spiritual walk with the Lord, including the pain. The Bible describes it as a ‘pruning process.’ I remember when I first began to serve the Lord, there was a lot He had to ‘prune’ from my life. My speech had to change, my attitude had to change, the places I went had to change, even my friends changed. It did not seem to be painful at the time because I loved Jesus (still do), and I wanted to be like Him so I was happy to make the changes. I also felt better, looked better and was more well liked and happier! It was a win -win! However as I served the Lord for longer and longer the pruning became less and less. I seemed to be walking on the right path. Yet, knowing that we will not be perfect on this earth, ever, I would often hear that sweet voice of the Holy Spirit. He would remind me that what I said, or did, or maybe did not do, did not please Him. Those were painful ‘growth spurts.’ Painful because we always want to please our Lord, yet, in a self-centered moment, we didn’t! That process still happens. We often push back against it not realizing that the pruning is for our own good.
Each year at the end of the season, we trim back all of the plants that have finished their growing cycle for this year. Why? Because the nutrients the plant needs to start new growth for next year would be wasted as it traveled to those now unproductive limbs. Pruning the plant allows the nutrients to stay in the part of the plant that will be producing the new lush growth in the next growing season. In the photo at the top you can see my real life illustration o this fact. This was a beautiful yellow kalanchoe house plant when I received it. Months later all the blooms fell off and it became very leggy with no blooms. It was still alive, but in an unproductive condition. I finally got the courage to cut back all the leggy parts and just leave the stems. As you can see, in only a month we can see new growth. Time will tell what is in store for this kalanchoe, but I know it is something good.
John 15:1-2 1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He 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.
Often times the ‘pruning’ of something in our lives can be painful. Maybe a relationship has to be severed, maybe a habit has to be quelled or a persistent thought finally banished. Whatever it is, let it go! Just like every young boy who goes through those painful growth spurts, we will feel some pain, but we will be better for it! Just ask any young man if he regrets the pain to gain his height!
J
Leave a Reply