Pruning is Necessary in Order to Reap a Harvest of Righteousness

Tomato plants require pruning if the gardener wants them to have larger fruit and a stronger plant.

Suckers form in the crotch between a stem and a branch of the tomato plant.  These mini plants, if left to grow, will grow into their own entities, producing many more branches and fruit.

It sounds like that is what you would want right?  more growth and more fruit?  The problem with allowing the suckers to grow is that energy goes into creating those cute little leaves into energy sucks.  

Even though there may be more fruit produced, the overall fruit will be smaller. As with extraneous things in our lives.

Often times we are involved in activities and relationships that seem to be growing and producing something but through closer inspection and prayer, we come to realize that at times these things can divide our energy and efforts and diminish the production of good, hearty, sizable eternal fruit.

There are several benefits to pruning these suckers out of our lives.  Similar to our lives the tomato plants benefit from a good thorough pruning every other day or so to rid it of these branches that would come in take over the structure of the plant.

Another benefit of this pruning is increased air flow around the remaining leaves.  This allows the remaining leaves to dry more quickly and therefore be less susceptible to disease.  Like the life of the pruned tomato plant, so our lives, as we maintain our focus on the "main thing" Jesus, pruning away the distractions or even the "good" things so that we can experience the refreshing breeze of His presence in our lives which is vital to our integrity.

John 15:2 says

He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn't produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 

Our Father is the gardener, He knows which things needed to be pruned in us so that we will be a fruitful vine.  Many times He must come in and remove things from our lives so that we are producing things that have eternal value.  We find His hand invasive and painful as He reaches in and plucks and prunes but we can take great comfort that He is very intentional.  He wants a vine that produces a harvest of righteousness.

Hebrews 12:11

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those how have been trained by it. 

Matthew 15:3 tells us of the Father's proactive activity in our lives.  "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them, they are blind guides.  And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit.

We are in jeopardy of falling away if we continue to feed and fertilize the activities or relationships in our lives that the Father did not plant.  

We are so prone to wander and look for lesser pleasures to fulfill our own desires, whether it be in "ministry" or in our "free" time.  

It is imperative that we take inventory of what we are giving our time and talents to throughout each day.  Many times we are "doing" things that are biblical but setting aside our primary responsibilities, like our children, in order to fulfill some need within ourselves to be needed.

Often times we look outside of the pasture that God has provided for us to grow and thrive in, viewing the fields around us as more enticing and greener all the while losing sight of serving God faithfully in the mundane, watering and fertilizing the lives that He has given us to nurture and grow.

Parenting is a high calling.  Let us not lose sight of the fact that God has called us to be ambassadors of Christ to our children.  

We could allow those other activities room in our lives, and sure, they may produce fruit but God wants the fruit of our lives to be produced by what He has planted in our lives and our children are the little plants that He has planted in our garden so let us tend to them and pray that we reap a harvest of righteousness in all that we put our hands to.

Let us ask God to show us those "suckers" in our lives.  Ask Him to pluck the desire for those things to of our hearts so that we can serve Him from a pure heart set on eternal things!