Father is the Vinedresser

Lesson #237

We are currently working on John 15:1: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser” (ESV). Jesus is the true vine who provides the attached branches with all that is needed for producing fruit. I have been around vineyards and have had my own grape vines, and have quickly learned that left to themselves, production begins to decrease as the branches tend to grow for themselves instead of focusing on bearing fruit. These branches that enjoy producing an abundance of leaves, leave little energy to produce fruit. To correct this problem a vinedresser is hired to maintain the vineyard with proper cultivation, fertilizing and trimming. Not only does overgrowth draw energy away from fruit bearing, but the extra growth blocks the sunlight and air movement for a healthy environment. It is truly amazing how the removal of extra growth at the proper time stimulates production. This idea carries over into other areas of agriculture. It is important to know how many seeds to sow to maximize yield; too few seeds result in not enough plants and too many seeds produce an overcrowding problem; both results in lower yields.

How does this apply to us as a believer? As we start this chapter we must remember why God left us here on earth after becoming believers. At least two reasons stand out: First, we need to grow spiritually from children, to young men, to fathers (1 John 2:12 – 14) and second, before the beginning of time, God prepared work for us to do while we were growing spiritually. Jesus is the source of all we need to grow spiritually and to do the assigned work, and our Father will provide the guidance, training, and even discipline to insure that we are conformed into the image of his Son (Romans 8:29) as we serve him. This process will take on much more meaning as we work our way through this chapter.

Prayer

Father, I find that if I am to have healthy trees around my home, I need to trim them on a regular basis; I need to remove lower branches that hang down and remove extra growth from within the tree. As I do the trees take on a nicer shape and are much healthier as they grow and they have more endurance to weather severe storms. As the vinedresser, you do the same thing with my life; trimming some here and some more there; things that I do that use up time and energy and detract from doing kingdom work assigned to me. Father, thank you for taking me from being lost and without hope and are transforming me into the image of Jesus. Thank you for the joy you have given me as I do my assigned kingdom work.