“The Gardener only prunes the plants he loves.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – March 24, 2026
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. John 15:1-2
My Dad, a skilled landscape architect, did me the great favour last year of pruning my azalea bushes. But when I came outside with a glass of ice water for his efforts, I looked at the job he had done, and I’m sure my face showed my budding doubts about his gardening expertise. The azaleas – once so bountifully full of green, whites, pinks, and purples – were now nothing more than woody stumps sticking their ugly heads out of the ground. What had he done?
A year has proven, once again, my dad’s greater wisdom. The azaleas have not only survived and grown back, but they are fuller and more bursting with blooms than ever. This Easter will be glorious with their blossoms. The pruning was precisely what they needed, and, thankfully, my dad had the courage to do the job I would have shrunk from. Sure, my azaleas would have continued to put out blooms here and there, but they could never have reached their potential fruitfulness without that good, hard lopping.
Watching the azaleas has given me a more profound appreciation for what Jesus said about the Father’s gardening practices in the lives of his children. I’ve always thought of pruning as a negative thing, a taking away, almost like a punishment. But in fact, Jesus makes it clear that it is the fruitful branches that God gives the care to pruning. Though we may be happy to settle for a few blooms here and there, he will not be satisfied with less than our greatest potential. He sees all that we could be if we would trust his expert shears to shave off what’s not serving us anymore. He only takes away, not to punish, but so that we can gain – and give – so much more.
Lent is a wonderful time to enter into the pruning process with our Father and Good Gardener. It is a season set apart for examining those things (good things included!) we are clinging onto that are preventing our full bloom, be it a mode of thinking, a way of responding, a habit that needs shedding, a dream that needs relinquishing, or any number of other bits of ourselves that we feel so essential to our being. Seek the Gardener’s wisdom in what area of your life needs relinquishing to his shears. And rest assured that his pruning is precise and perfect, and it is ever only for your blossoming!
Prayer
Lord God, please show me what I need to allow you to prune from my life. You have not called me to prune myself, but to present myself wholly to your skilled gardener’s hand. Help me to trust your goodness as you prune me towards a more abundant life. Amen.
Application
If you have not already, choose something to fast from during the last week leading up to Easter for the sake of drawing your attention to the celebration of the new life Christ has won for you with his Resurrection. He prunes the old in order to let the new spring to life!
Related Reading
Psalm 51:7-13; Galatians 5:22-23; Hebrews 12:11
Worship Resource
Community Music: Make Room
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