The Heavenly Gardener

“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 (niv)

I am a neglectful gardener. I love a beautiful garden as much as the next person, and at the beginning of spring I am full of ambition and commitment to have that beautiful garden. I weed, trim, water, and mulch and do all the garden-y things that one must do in order for flowers to flourish. And they do! But very quickly, I get distracted and busy with life and forget to even think about my garden and very soon the small plot of land and the flowers and plants that once were flourishing begin to look - well they look sad and neglected.

The other day as I was rushing past my garden on my way to my front door, I happened to notice my rose bush. My poor forgotten rose bush that I had walked past daily without even a glance in her direction now sported dead flowers which hung limply from the branches and the buds of yet-to-be-opened roses remained stubbornly closed. The rose bush which at times gloriously and proudly displayed beautiful pink flowers, through my neglect as a gardener had become an object of shame.

I stopped in my tracks as the Holy Spirit began to do a little instruction in my heart through my own neglected garden. Like John 15:1-2 says, our heavenly Father is also a gardener. But quite unlike me, He never walks hurriedly past His garden without glancing at it. He doesn't forget to water or feed or pull out weeds or prune off branches that are draining life away. He is a gardener who tends to His garden. He carefully and meticulously sees and knows everything about it. He pays careful attention as He walks in His garden pulling out the weeds. He steps close as He prunes off the unfruitful branches. And He carefully waters and feeds through His Spirit and His Word.

I have felt the painful clipping of the shears as my Heavenly Gardener has pruned back unfruitful branches -good things, things that I love, that are not producing good fruit in my life. I have felt the painful tug of the roots of idolatry being pulled from my heart. He has continuously fed me and nourished me through His Holy Word. And in that moment as I looked at my neglected garden, I realized how un-neglected I am. Those painful prunings and weedings, the watering and feeding, all are evidence of the Heavenly Gardener's close presence and careful attention in my life. He sees me. He knows me. He cares for me. He loves me.

There may be some reading this who feel neglected, uncared for, unloved. I wonder--do you know this Heavenly Gardener? You can find Him in the pages of the Bible. He is God - the God of the Bible - The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And He is attentive and cares for those who are planted in His Garden through His Son, Jesus. I would love to introduce you to Him so that you too can know Him. Knowing Him is eternal life!

But there may be some reading this today who do know this Heavenly Gardener. But you have felt the pain of pruning and the pulling of weeds, and in your pain you have not noticed that He is also feeding and watering you, and you have felt unloved and uncared for. Perhaps you even felt that God has forgotten you. For you, I pray that you can see that your Heavenly Gardener loves you dearly. He is paying careful attention to what is needed for your flourishing, and He is closest to you when your pain is the greatest.  Surrender to Him. Trust Him!