The Husbandman

(John 15:1) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.”

It is now the summer season and with it comes many pleasantries; the sun and its warmth have many advantages, picnicking in the open vast spaces within Gods creation or braaing (barbecue) around the pool, lots of fun to be had in the sun. We have moved from spring into summer, the fruit trees yield their fruit and we enjoy their taste and nourishment. In fact we have a pomegranate tree in our garden and as far as I can remember it has produced inedible fruit, but just maybe this year its yield will be edible. The likelihood is negative, but as I look at the already formed fruit although still green, I have notice that this year the worms have not infected the fruit, not as yet anyway. Time will tell whether I will find enjoyment from this tree and its fruit. Like I said, up until now there has been no benefit from its fruit, unless you are a worm, in fact the fruit drops from the trees and dirties the surrounding area for someone to pick up and discard in the rubbish bin. On purchasing some fruit last week I noticed that pomegranates were easily the most expensive of all fruit at the fruit market. There is a shortfall in supply and therefore their price out of reach for most consumers. One could buy a bag of most fruits for the same price as one pomegranate. A lot of churches and those individuals who claim Christianity as a lifestyle often are as rare a find as pomegranates. I know I have been amongst the number of the guilty as charged. But my point is that while we breathe and live we have the opportunity to call out to Jesus and be pruned by our Heavenly Father, so that edible fruit will eventually be evident, do you believe this? Well, if you have the Spirit of God living inside you and if God has chosen you from before the beginning of time, find assurance in this, that we will eventually produce fruit to our lives. When we look to a vine we look for grapes and when we look to Christians we look for Christianity; fruits of the spirit will be evident to their lives, if not then we may eventually be chastised with death, yet fruit will be evident, as all God’s children will make it to heaven. Yes, we may well suffer lose, but nevertheless we will be carried into the presence of God because our marvellous Saviour has overcome hell, death and the grave on our behalf, all Hail King Jesus! But that is not our heart in the matter we must all look for obedience in our lives to bring honour to our God. He will teach us to obey, so the sooner we learn to yield the painless it will be.

In reflection of my own life I now sit and wonder about the same truth to my life, for as long as I can remember I have made a mess in and around my life and others have had to clean up. I have a lot of remorse over so many bad decisions in my life; I have not been a tree that year after year has produced palatable fruit, enabling believers to feed from its fruit, in fact at times that tree was regarded dead by many; In truth there was a time when I almost believed the same, maybe you find yourself understanding your life to be similar to mine. You are rather despondent, your hands hang low and your knees shake feebly, and then I implore you to cry out to Jesus, for He cares for you!

I thank God my Father for sending His beloved Son into my life, Jesus is the true vine, we are the branches, and they must in its season bear fruit. Correctly, this does not only refer to a season alone but many seasons, year after year punning happens and then fruit comes forth. The Father is the Gardener and if the tree is never pruned, the tree will never reap its potential. It is only through pruning and obviously the root (Jesus) that supplies the vine nourishment and when they work together in synergy the believers fruit will be most enjoyable and rewarding to all those who eat from it.

It is up to the Gardener to determine where and when to prune; how thankful I am that the Gardener in our lives (believers) is none other the God the Father. There could never be a better husbandman and for this I am forever grateful. I say to all, be of good courage, although you as a branch bears little fruit and the branch has been cut back leaving you exposed to the harshness of the sun, the heat may almost be unbearable, but hear me very clearly, if God be your Husbandman, in due season that tree and that branch will yield it fruit.

We are safe in the hands of our God; if we have been born again by His spirit and confess the Lord Jesus as Lord with the Father clipping back our lives as we walk through life with all its challenging temptations which I have on many occasion failed in my attempt to walk circumspectly before a Holy God, what are we to do?

Fear not for faith will see us through, we must remember that we are justified not by what we do, but rather justified before God because of what Christ has done. Our lives will and must be cut down as far as our branches initial node if need be, but because of the finished work of Calvary we will in season bring forth fruit palatable to others. We must never forget who the Gardner is, He understands a lot more than we will ever understand, and if we are His children will he not look out for us, most certainly! We must rest in our God, come what may we must always remember this truth; (Romans 8:28) “And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.”

He has a purpose and when we rest in our God’s purpose and His will, be sure that in due seasons all His trees will yield it's produce. I understand all the self willed sinful actions to my life has been useful for firewood only, but it is not over yet while we still breathe there is hope. May our hope rest solely and securely on Jesus Christ our Saviour in this life and for the life to come, to Him be honour and glory, we exalt the name of our King and we are thankfully grateful to God our Heavenly Father for the necessary pruning He does to our lives, even if we do not understand it at the time.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be found by us all?

Signing off

Tyrone