Dearly beloved of God:
This past week a young man from our church family came to me wanting to do some work around the church campus as part of a community service requirement. My first reaction was to wonder what kind of trouble this fella had gotten into. (Up to this moment the only people who had ever asked to do community service at the church were people who had been given the imposition by the court.)
To my relief, this guy wasn't in any trouble at all. The school system in which he is beginning his freshman year of high school requires all of its students to do 10 hours of community service as credit towards graduation. Before I forget, I want to commend this young man, because in his four hours, he gave five hours of productivity. He pulled weeds, put together resources for our 40 Days of Community, and cleared the line of sight to our roadside sign. He also had to deal with two bushes growing alongside our main building: one a beautiful forsythia that had gotten a bit "leggy" and the other a sumac of some variety. His instructions were to prune back the forsythia in a nice globular shape, and to get rid of the sumac. As I was telling him how the sumac had been cut back to the ground in the spring, only to sprout back bigger and badder than ever, I was reminded of the words of Jesus:
John 15:1-8 (TLB)
1 "I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener.
2 He lops off every branch that doesn't produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops.
3 He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you.
4 Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can't produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.
5 "Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can't do a thing.
6 If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned.
7 But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!
8 My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father.
The unproductive sumac had developed an extensive root system and the only way to get rid of it was to dig it up. This task alone took about 30 minutes, but it was the only way to deal with it. All the pieces of this bush were then carted to the pit to be burned. The forsythia, on the other hand, is not only a lot more shapely, but next Spring I expect it to be a show of yellow beauty. As the roots of the sumac were being carried away, I thought of another Scripture,
Hebrews 12:14-15 (TLB)
14 Try to stay out of all quarrels, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for one who is not holy will not see the Lord.
15 Look after each other so that not one of you will fail to find God's best blessings. Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you, for as it springs up it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives.
Bitterness is a root from which no good fruit can be produced. You can only put the axe to it and cut it out. Our Heavenly Father is an expert gardener. He knows when to prune and when to pluck; all we need to do is yield to His loving hand. During our upcoming 40 Days of Community, as we draw near to the Lord and to each other, may we truly experience the fact that life is "Better Together", producing bountiful harvests for His glory.
For those of you who can make it, I'll see you Sunday as Pastor Rick Warren revs up our engines with the message, "What On Earth Are We HEre For?" Second Service folks, plan to arrive early for our 10 AM brunch under the tent.
Yours for His Purposes,
Pastor Les
Pluck or Prune
