Have you ever wanted to crush bunches of grapes in a large vat? I know I have.
I think it’d be fun to squelch juicy clusters underfoot and feel grape flesh rising up between my toes.
If I’m angry with a rude checkout chick, I’d just pound my frustrations away. If I’m irritated with an annoying third tier friend, I’d just crush down with wild abandon. The 1.5% part psychopath in me would want nothing more than to do that.
Today of course, mechanical and technical advancements (steam rollers?) make juice extraction more efficient, but the traditional way seems a great deal more romantic.
Imagine a world where grape vats are set up in every school. Instead of teachers sending misbehaving students off to sit in detention, the kids are set to work in large oak barrels. They burn off pent up aggression while simultaneously doing something productive.
The school can then bottle the resulting grape juice as Chateau Delinquent, and raise funds by selling it for $10 a pop at the next Spring Fair.
It’s a win win.
All levity aside, in my last post Bearing Fruit, we looked at God the Father tending His vineyard in John 15.
We are the branches of the vine that are expected to bear clusters of delicious grapes. If we’re not producing fruit, God steps in to stimulate growth through loving discipline.
He lifts us up, cleans off the dirt and exposes us to direct sunlight.
But what if your life is already bearing fruit?
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. John 15:8
Right now, you are doing good deeds and righteous acts in Christ’s name and reflecting his character through the fruit of the Spirit.
Nonetheless, the Lord wants you to produce even more fruit that exceeds your current expectations. This will involve countering the typical way grapevines behave.
Grapevines are beautiful. Their burgeoning leaves look impressive.
However, they grow so vigorously that the sun can’t reach where grape clusters should form. A grapevine’s natural tendency is to branch out and produce more leaves than grapes.
As believers, our main purpose is to produce grapes. Pruning in Jesus’ day was an important method for securing a good crop in the next season.
Even now, pruning is a technique for guaranteeing an abundant harvest.
According to Dr Peter May, one of Australia’s leading horticulturists, “One of the main jobs of pruning is to tell the vine how many bunches of grapes you want it to produce and to ripen in the year.”
The vinedresser must cut away or prune unnecessary shoots so that the grapevine’s efforts become concentrated on yielding grapes.
What are the branches and shoots that God prunes?
These represent priorities in our lives that may not be sinful or wrong. Yet, they swallow up our time and keep us from serving the Lord in the magnitude and manner He desires.
Without God intervening, without the sharp incisions of the pruning shears, we’ll only live up to a small portion of our potential.
He wants us to let go of activities and things that prevent us from doing His will.
That’s why pruning actually hurts.
And sometimes we mistake the process of pruning for discipline.
If you’ve prayed and examined your heart finding no major or habitual sin to cause God to discipline you, then He’s more than likely pruning you.
How much pruning do I need?
According to Nikki Tilley, “Light pruning doesn’t promote adequate fruiting whereas heavy pruning provides the greatest quality of grapes… When pruning grapes, you’ll want to cut off as much of the old wood as possible. This will encourage the growth of new wood, which is where the fruit is produced.” (2021; para 2,3)
As vines mature, they must be pruned more intensively to achieve better fruit and higher yields.
Young Christians will experience pruning that removes time wasting activities and wrong priorities.
Whereas, mature Christians will face pruning that is more intense. It will involve the things dearest to our hearts, our beliefs and identities.
It will involve the testing of our faith.
Whether you’re new to the faith or one who has known the Lord for a long time, each one of us knows exactly where the pruning shears hurt. The places God prunes will be different from one person to another.
Through the trials, we need to pay attention to God’s shears. What is He shaping in you? Where is He leading? How is He strengthening you for a new and greater season of abundance?
Pruning helps us to keep focused on Him and His Kingdom.
It is a call to absolute surrender in matters of the heart.
God may test your faith in the area of your heartstrings—the people you love.
He may be asking you to end the relationship with that young man who you’re infatuated with, but is not worthy of you. He may ooze with charm, looks and intelligence, but has no respect for God.
On the other hand, you may be staunchly opposed to getting married at all. You’ve determined to remain single forever, but there’s someone who is interested.
The two of you together as husband and wife have the potential to lead the youth ministry at church. Perhaps you’d serve well together as foreign missionaries.
Maybe God is inviting you to follow Him regardless of the ridicule and rejection from close family members who don’t support your faith in Christ.
God may test your faith in the area of money and the things that money can buy. He may put you through a trial concerning your ego, status, and purpose in life.
Whatever trials may come, whatever branches are lopped off, be sure that God knows exactly what He’s doing.
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. Psalm 34:8
Bibliography
No author specified. 2008, ‘Pruning Grapevines Series 19 Episode 18’, Gardening Australia, ABC. Retrieved 9 April 2021 from
Tilley, N. 2021, ‘How And When To Prune A Grapevine’, Gardening Know How. Retrieved 9 April 2021 from
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/grapes/prune-grape-vine.htm
Wilkinson, G. 2001. Secrets of the Vine, Multnomah Publishers, Oregon.
