Pruning and Abiding (John 15.1-5)

Today is our wedding anniversary. On this day, 28 May in 1983, Kathie and I pledged to have and hold each other for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until we are separated by death.

It poured with rain all day but we didn’t care; we were young, free and in love, and very excited about the day, going on honeymoon, discovering sexual intimacy, and then setting up home in London.

I hardly need to add that those vows have been more of a challenge for Kathie to keep over the years than they have been for me. We have had to work at our marriage like any couple, but God has always been there when we turned to him for help.

One of the readings at our wedding was from John 15 where Jesus says this: “I am 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... No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me... You are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15 is packed with amazing truths and I could talk for hours on it, but I’ve only got about a few minutes, so I’ll just highlight two things, briefly and simply.

Firstly, God uses pain, disappointment and affliction in our lives to grow good things. This is what Jesus means when he says God cuts and severs branches of a vine for greater fruitfulness. We aren’t that familiar with viticulture in the UK, but we do know about pruning roses. You can cut back a rosebush in winter to almost nothing and wonder if you have perhaps gone too far as you look in dismay at the sorry stump you have just reduced your rose bush to, but in the summer, you will invariably see spectacular results if you dared to be ruthless.

Where vine branches produce little or no fruit, only leaves, they drain sap away from the fruit, the grapes stay small and green, and the whole thing becomes little more than a decorative plant.

If you want large, juicy clusters of sweet grapes in September you’ve got to radically trim back healthy branches and lop off leafy branches altogether in January.

Unquestionably, the periods in my life of greatest pain, greatest despondency, have also been the times, looking back, that resulted in the most prolific spiritual growth. People want a hassle-free life and easy pleasure but the Bible says it’s those who sow in tears that reap in joy. Having to wait and wait, longing for prayers to be answered developed patience.

Secondly, God won’t settle for superficial; being a Christian is not just assenting to a creed or attending church, it’s living deeply in Christ.

On our wedding day, Kathie's and my desire for each other was off the scale. We were so excited. I mean, it was steamy, it was intense... But the success of our marriage today is measured by how strong and committed our love is for each other now, not how passionate it was then.

You may have a wonderful testimony of conversion, or I may be able to point to a remarkable experience with God years ago. But what is your testimony today? What is God doing in my life now!

Some Christians in middle or old age take their foot off the gas and coast through life, going through the motions, like a stale marriage where the flame went out years ago. That’s tragic; Hebrews 11 says the great heroes of the Bible were still living by faith (still taking risks) when they died.

This is what Jesus is talking about when he says we must go on abiding in him, as branches are organically connected to a vine. It’s no good me holding a dead branch and saying, “well, I can’t understand it, it was fine last year. It was attached to that lovely healthy tree over there.”

God is always doing a new thing, always turning another corner, always opening another door. What, specifically, are you doing this summer that requires you to take a step of faith?

So those are my two words of encouragement today; words of challenge as well actually. Remember to live deeply in Christ, holding fast to him in faith, and thank God that even the most painful episodes in your life can be transformed by his grace for blessing and fruitfulness.

Let’s pray...



Brief online talk, 28 May 2020