The Wise Vinedresser

Having grown up surrounded by vineyards on the Central Coast of California, the vineyard illustrations in Scripture usually leave me feeling nostalgic. But a recent read through John 15 on the vine (Jesus), the branches (us), and the vinedresser (the Father) didn't exactly bring warm-fuzzy feelings... 

"Every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." John 15:2

Ouch! I can't imagine that any "branch" feels comfortable during the pruning process... change, removal, or death of dreams, ministries, or relationships brings pain. Perhaps without the understanding that this temporary pain is unto more fruitfulness, the pruning process would be unbearable.  Several years ago a missionary friend composed the reflection below on the vine and branches. Seeing the love and wisdom of God's ways as the Gardener within my life has helped to protect me from feeling offense toward Him. If you haven't already experienced God's pruning in your life, it is sure to come... so it is my hope that these reflections will encourage us all to trust that He does know what is best for each of us.

The purposes of pruning are several: the health of the plant, structure, and fruit production.

When a vinedresser prunes a vine, he looks at the following: is the branch diseased or healthy? If it is diseased, is it contagious and/or spreading? Is the branch structurally sound; are there any defects or branches interfering with one another? Lastly, the vinedresser wants the branch to produce the best possible fruit. For this to happen, he must remove enough of the branch so that much of the sap goes into fruit production and not into leaves and branches. But he must also not take too much of the branch or it may die.

Initially, the branch starts out as a bud or graft in the outer bark of the vine. The point of germination is in the outer layer of the vine. At this point, the branch is very vulnerable to injury. Its bark is soft and green and easily damaged.

In succeeding years the branch is pruned and the character of the branch changes. With each successive year the diameter of the branch increases and much more sap is able to pass through it. The outer bark becomes brown and rough and more resistant to injury. The join between the branch and the main vine becomes stronger as the main vine adds "wood" and embeds the germination point of the branch into the vine itself.

Over time, the "root" of the branch becomes stronger, both through its "root" being in the vine and through its increase in diameter. The increase in diameter allows an increased amount of sap to flow into the branch which can then support a larger amount of fruit.

The vinedresser always keeps the vine's sap-to-branch ratio high by never letting the branches get very long and by pruning off most, if not all, of each year's fruit-bearing branches.                                                    - Robert Baerg

 Lord, give us grace by Your Spirit to love and trust Your leadership, that You might be glorified as we abide in You and bear much fruit to give back to You.