One of the great joys of my summer are the tomatoes flourishing along my fence. I find it hard to grow tomatoes here in Colorado, with the late spring freezes and early fall frosts. But this month I’m enjoying slices of Early Girls and Cherokee Purples with every meal.

Around the corner blackberries ripen. I’ll pick enough to eat and bake in cobblers and make blackberry preserves (my wife is the baker and preserver). Grapes fatten next to the blackberries. If the squirrels and birds don’t get to them, a few will ripen to a tangy sweetness.

I work spring and summer to create the best conditions for fruiting. I amend the soil, I watch for pests, I water, and most importantly, I prune.

Pruning involves cutting off parts of the plant that won’t lead to fruiting. I have better tomatoes this summer as a result of better pruning. Because I grow grape vines as a privacy screen, I let them run wild and the fruit suffers. If I want better grapes, I need to prune aggressively.

Tomatoes immediately come to mind when I read Jesus teach about pruning (although I imagine Jesus looked on a vineyard as he spoke). I’m 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.

As a gardener, I understand the need to prune. But when I’m the object of the pruning, I hesitate. Why would God remove something good from my life? Why did my job change, or why do I have less responsibilities than before? What will I do with all this time? When life brings unexpected change, the Lord may be in the process of pruning.

All my pruning involves cutting back living, healthy branches. I want the life of the plant flowing into the fruit, not new shoots. The last few years the Lord pruned some good things from my work. Vibrant, active, growing areas of ministry. While I question the cutting, I believe it will lead to fruiting elsewhere.

I hope you enjoy some home grown tomatoes or blackberries this summer. When the pleasure hits your mouth, think of the pruning involved in growing such delights.

Then consider the pruning the Lord may be doing in your life, and find hope in the hands of the Master Gardener.

John 15 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022