"Why are We Cutting Down All the Plants?"

When I was in Jr. High I started a “lawn mowing business” and by the time I was in high school my brother and I were mowing 20+ lawns.  In addition, I worked for a professional landscaping company.  All that to say, I use to love that work.  At the end of a job you could look back a see the difference you made—it was instant gratification. Perhaps it is because in Pastoral ministry it sometimes takes years to see true changes that I have still held on to my love for yard work (No, I will not come and take care of your yard—I don’t love it that much J).  So, on Tuesday night I began to work on our yard.  It is a mess.  The home we have purchased is a foreclosed home.  All of the plants and bushes are overgrown and out of control.  The dead that should have been removed last fall was still present and soon would have been a hindrance to the new. 

“Hey, Seth,” I called, “Do you want to help Daddy?  I will let you use these big, sharp trimmers!”  (I love being a Dad—what Mom would ever have that phrase come out of her mouth)?  Seth’s six year old eyes lit up.  He hollered back, “Sure!” as he ran toward me.  Pretty soon the whole family was cutting away the dead and overgrown plants that should have been tended to a few years ago. At one point Anna asked, “Why are we cutting down all the plants?”  I answered, “We are not cutting them down, we are making room for them to truly grow and be healthy.” 

It’s funny how God can take something that seems so disconnected from him and begin to show you just how connected he is to every action, every word and every thought we have if we will let him reveal himself.  You see, this week I have been preparing for our Annual, End of the Church Year meeting and elections (This Sunday, April 6, 3:30-5 PM in the sanctuary—everyone invited—we need you!).  As I was praying through how to best hear from all of you to help our Refocus Team continue in the process, I was reminded of Tuesday night. 

Like my daughter, I found myself asking, “Father, why are we doing this?”  Then I heard him use my very words to help me hear His, “You have to remove the dead to make room for life!”  That is why I am praying you will join us on Sunday afternoon.  Your part is crucial in helping us make room for new life.  Jesus has promised that he has come to bring life and life abundant here and now and forever!  The only thing that will leave the promise unfulfilled is if you and I are unwilling to let him remove what is dead in us as individuals and as a church family.

Yes, I know…its sounds painful because it is.  Cutting is never pleasant.  On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”  But, as the Psalmist says, “Joy comes in the morning.”  When God is the one doing the cutting, death ALWAYS clears the way for new life.

Jesus explained it this way in John 15:1-3, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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.”

Will you and I let the Father do what he does best?  Will you and I let Him cut away that which does not bear fruit (an attitude, a lie that we have been living under, forgiveness we have been holding onto, a regret we can’t change, but  that we are letting control us, fear, selfishness, hurt—branches that don’t bear fruit come in all shapes and sizes)? Will you and I let the Father prune that which does bear His life in us to bring forth even more?

Now, here is the even harder question: Will we let the Father do that with us as a church family?  Will we let him show us what is not bearing fruit and then allow him to cut it off? Will we let him prune what does have life to make let it bear even more fruit? 

Will you prepare for our gathering on Sunday by simply praying John 15:1-3 to be made real among us? “Why?” you ask.  Because Jesus came to show us that the best way to come alive is to be willing to die!