After a major life upheaval, we find ourselves renting a house in a small town in Oklahoma. When we set out, I thought we would end up finding an apartment. One thing I wanted to get away from was yard work. However, preferring space between our dwelling and neighbors won out. I concluded the difference in housing cost would allow for hiring someone to do the mowing for me.
What I didn’t count on was a yard suffering from years of neglect. Around the perimeter of the backyard stood a row of trees and shrubs, both young and very old dead trees. One large tree was very dead with large limbs broken and fallen onto the younger saplings now bowed low under the weight they are forced to carry. After five weeks of looking at that, I couldn’t let it continue anymore. That and I needed an outside project. Stopping at a local hardware store, I picked up a small bowsaw, a pair of work gloves, and started sawing and dragging dead limbs to a pile on the west side of the house.
I agreed with my wife’s argument that this is the landlord’s responsibility. Since he had been content with it as is for the past six years during the previous tenant’s time, I didn’t see the landlord changing anytime soon. I told her that it wasn’t costing us anything, and I couldn’t be content or restful with it in this condition. I spent an hour or so picking away at the yard on the warm winter days when I needed an outside break, wondering how much of a difference I was making– would anyone appreciate my effort, and could it ever be anything more than ugly volunteer growth.
A perspective adjustment
About that time, a couple of passages from the Bible came into view. My wife and I try to read a portion every day and share personal insights gained. Recently we were reading in the gospel of John. In chapter 15, Jesus speaks a parable teaching to his disciples. He said, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
As I was looking at what I had been doing and at the mess that still needed more cutting, pruning, and eventual burning, I wondered what the Lord saw as He looked at me. I know by the Word that He never wondered if I would ever be worth the effort. He never second guessed if I would ever amount to anything more than wild, undisciplined growth.
As the perfect gardener, He is deliberate and discerning on what He cuts out for unfruitfulness or what He prunes to create more fruit. Likewise, He doesn’t cut too much and thereby hurt the life of the vine branch.
He showed me
I look back at the yard and realize I have focused on removing the eyesore. My expectation didn’t reach beyond making it presentable. He, quite opposite, looks deeper within, seeing the beauty and purpose He molded into us, things hidden by our choices, self-determination, and sometimes our low self-esteem.
He pulls out the dead branches and examines the remaining branches. Some look good, pleasing to the eyes, raising expectations, but like the fig tree Jesus cursed, they have no fruit. All they are doing is siphoning the nutrients intended to produce excellent fruit. The Father—for our good—prunes those things in our lives to throw them onto the burn pile with the dead branches. He continues doing all we need for us to become as He designed. I am filled once again with awe that my heavenly Father loves me so much. He works for my good, so even if the pruning brings pain, I can thank Him and bless His name.
And He does more
Another passage I remembered as I stared at my backyard and considered what the Spirit was speaking to me is a prayer the apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit unction, wrote. The prayer is special because it isn’t only a part of history. It is a solid, heartfelt desire from God himself expressed through his servant Paul “to him who has ears, let him hear.” It is found in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12. “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In our devotional time together, my wife and I have been giving added attention to these prayers of the apostles. What a comfort and joy they are as we realize the desires we have for more of Jesus visible in our lives the Father desired first.
Give us eyes to see
I need to shift my vision from the work needing to be done in me to how Jesus sees me. Until I can do that, I will never see beyond the eyesore. My sense of worth weakens. The rich nutrients from the true vine get siphoned to create a false image to others. Look again at the above prayer: be counted worthy; experience all His good pleasure toward us and be strengthened by the work of faith with power, and all so we can have Jesus glorified in us and us in Him. I praise Jesus that He sees a completed work instead of a never-ending project. He will never give up on me and continues His perfect and perfecting work in me.
Have this confidence
I am ending with one more of Paul’s prayers, another prayer the Holy Spirit placed on his heart. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”
(All quotes taken from New King James Version)
Featured Image by Nicky ❤️????????????❤️ from Pixabay
