New Identity Magazine

God in focus. World in scope.

  • About
  • Grow
    • Spotlight: In Perspective
    • Growth & Maturity
    • Foundation
    • Practical Application
    • Jargon
  • Connect
    • Community
    • Discovering God
    • God Talk
    • Life Together
  • Live
    • Give Back
    • People
    • Culture & Creativity
    • Careers & Callings
  • Back Issues
  • Write
    • Submit an Article
    • Writer’s Guidelines
    • House Style Guide
    • Content Submissions Agreement
    • Jargon Substitutions
  • Shop
  • Donate
  • Contact

God The Gardener

By Delbert Teachout Leave a Comment

In John 15:1 Jesus says that God is the gardener and he prunes every branch that does not produce fruit. A person stuck in his or her ways of sin is like a prickly shrub growing a lot of branches with no fruit. These branches must be removed so good fruit can grow. In the same way as a bush is unable to prune itself, a person who is living in sin is unable to remove all the unfruitful branches in life. Paul described this condition in chapter seven of Romans when he called himself a wretched man and realized only Jesus can change him.

Jesus provides the essential elements for growth; he gives us his Word (the Bible) for fertilizer, other believers for sunshine, and the Holy Spirit for water. When our roots begin to receive this new water, sunshine, and fertilizer, new branches begin to grow. This time the branches are not prickly bushes, but beautiful new branches adorned with the fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self control,” (Galatians 5:22). Our old acquaintances will marvel at who we have become. When we allow God to be the gardener, he will shape us into his design.

In our old life there are branches of pride, anger, shame, and guilt. There is isolation, procrastination, and intoxication. These branches do not produce nice fruit. There is the memory of all the broken lies, and all the times we were sincere in promising to never sin again, only to sin again a few minutes later. We can never remove those hurtful branches with our own strength.

God has to get out his clippers and start chopping. As he sheds branch after prickly branch, there is great pain in our heart and mind. Our pain seems unbearable. We may feel that the pain is not worth the results. Our mind seems dull. Our heart hurts so badly we want to shout, or cry, but no words come and neither do the tears. We wonder when this will ever be over. It hurts so badly because we grew these branches for our entire lives. We let them grow, untrimmed, and ugly. We have branches of hatred, resentment, lost opportunities, broken relationships; branches mixing with branches mixing with branches into a jumbled mess of prickly, spiny, repulsive, bits of personality. 

The emotional state of a sinner is ambivalence. On one hand our self-esteem is at its lowest while on the other hand our pride is at its highest. A part of us wants to change, but the sinful part of us wants more of the same. That is why we pass on so many opportunities to give our lives to Jesus. The only time we have fun is when our minds deceive us, yet we know deep in our souls that we are totally miserable. What a horrible way to feel. Can we break away from the thing that has a hold on us?

Despite all our thoughts, words, and behaviors that are displeasing to God, he loves us so much that he desires us to spend eternity with him. He gave us the only way to get to heaven: belief in Jesus. When we begin to think we are so bad there is no hope, we need to remember that God loves us. There is not a weed or branch that can escape the pruning shears of the master gardener. 

God’s love offers more joy, more peace, more pleasure than can ever be obtained by any sinful gratification we can experience or imagine. When we let go and allow him to trim, to prune, plant, and perfect us, we grow to full maturity with much fruit.

“The Lord watches over all who love him” (Ps.145:20). This verse means he is not giving us a sideways glance. Nor is it a casual glance. It is a determined look. He has all his attention fixed on us. It means that he is aware of everything we do, everything we think, and everything we say. It means more even than he knit us together and formed us while we were still in our mother’s wombs. It means more than before we were born he knew us (Ps. 139).  It means he loves everyone he has made. It means he is near to those who call on him. It means he fulfills the desires of those who fear him. It means he hears the desperate, pleading, cry of the sinner or lost and offers to save him or her.       

God is awesome. He will give us wisdom when we do not know what to do. He will give us direction when we do not know where to go. He will give us hope when we are down and out. He will pick us up when we fall. He will forgive us when we sin. He has his eye on us. He knows our faults, our weaknesses, our triggers. He knows who we have been, who we are, and who we will be, and he loves us anyway. When he is finished with us, we bear large beautiful flowers that grow into juicy, delicious fruit.   

Our reasonable response to God’s love is to let ourselves be set free by his pruning shears from those branches that bind and confine us. But in order to be set free we have be willing to be trimmed. Letting go can cause grief and pain as we get rid of all the ugly, unfruitful branches. We will have to give up some of our habits or things we once valued. 

However, in all of this process, there is still great news. New branches will grow! Gardeners know that when growing beautiful flowers it becomes necessary to prune the bushes back, add water and fertilizer, and allow in sunlight. When the branch is pruned, the bush grows prolific petals next season.

How much do we have to give up? Everything. We need to allow God to prune back the old branches until there is nothing left but the root. We can’t cling to a single branch. As he chops off our guilt, our shame, our pride, and our old beliefs we can begin to change. He removes our desire for sin. He gives us a new reason to live. He gives us new life as he removes every branch that has kept us in bondage.

God removes our shame by making us face it. The same is true of the other branches. He removes the branches by making us face the things that are growing on them. We can’t trim the tree ourselves. Once we submit to him, he begins the process of change. That is why the hurt is so painful. We have to come face to face with who we are.

We have to learn to manage our anger, control our impulses, admit our feelings of guilt, and end our ceaseless obsessions and compulsions. We have to be careful to not be fooled by those who would say those things do not matter. They do. Praise God we can face Jesus in prayer, wash our pain in the love God speaks through the Bible, and be refreshed in worship, and God will remove those behaviors from us.

The process sometimes takes longer than we want and we may have to wait. But when we allow God into those areas, the result is worth the effort. In our age of instant gratification we sometimes want instant sanctification. But, it takes time for new branches to grow on a bush. Likewise, it takes time to remove our old branches. When we wait on the Lord, he will renew our strength. Instead of being cast out with the weeds; we will be harvested with the fruit.

Fruit-bearing Christians have gone through the metamorphic process of changing from sinners to Christians, who unfortunately continue to keep sinning, but do seek to change. They allow God to remove the ugly, prickly branches in hopes of growing good fruit producing branches.

How is your garden growing? Does it have thistles and weeds, or dandelion seeds? Do sand burrs and crab grass grow side by side? Do vines twist and snarl without any fruit? In other words, does sin control your life? If it is sin, call on the master gardener and allow him to begin trimming away the old growth, to make way for the new fruit.

Share with friendsShare on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Email to someone
email

Filed Under: Grow, Growth & Maturity Tagged With: Issue 41

Related Posts

  • An Eye for An Eye, and a Tooth for a ToothAn Eye for An Eye, and a Tooth for a Tooth
  • Muting The Noise of the WorldMuting The Noise of the World
  • Memorable Middle EarthMemorable Middle Earth
  • How Anyone Can Study The BibleHow Anyone Can Study The Bible
  • Kingdom AcceptanceKingdom Acceptance
  • EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE?EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Current Issue

Current Issue

Read Now

newidentitymag

New Identity | Exploring Faith
We hope you enjoy the new issue! Check out the lin We hope you enjoy the new issue! Check out the link in our bio! Happy Fall/Winter! 🍁
We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute to the next issue! If you're interested in writing on this topic, please leave us a comment! ✨
We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute to the next issue! If you're interested in writing on this topic, please leave us a comment! ✨
How should we be using our money? - We're looking How should we be using our money? - We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute to the next issue! If you're interested in writing on this topic, please leave us a comment!
We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute to the next issue! If you're interested in writing on this topic, please leave us a comment!
We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute to the next issue! If you're interested in writing on the topic of praying continually and what that can look like in our fast-paced society, please leave us a comment! 😊
We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute We're looking for volunteer writers to contribute to the next issue! If you're interested in writing on this topic, please leave us a comment! ✨
Happy Spring! Enjoy the new issue! #linkinbio Happy Spring! Enjoy the new issue! #linkinbio
Our striving to be like Jesus or do his work on ou Our striving to be like Jesus or do his work on our own is in vain. We can never hope to achieve the same level that Jesus was on while we are still here on Earth. We’re like little kids, struggling just to walk. But that’s why Jesus gave us an example of redeemed followers in the form of the Apostles, who were his close group of students here on Earth. He chose a group of broken, sinful men, and ultimately shaped them into the group responsible for continuing his ministry here on Earth. ⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: Tim VanDeWalker in "Running By Example" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's th "Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world." –Desmond Tutu
The Bible tells us to live in the world, but not t The Bible tells us to live in the world, but not to become like it. The New Living Translation puts it this way, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Rom. 12:2a). Some have interpreted this as an instruction to reject anything that isn’t explicitly Christian. But I don’t think that’s what this verse is getting at. I think it means much more.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: Lindsey Beharry in "Choosing Wisely" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
If you desire to serve, seek to form groups withou If you desire to serve, seek to form groups without age distinction. Maybe you want to form a group in your church. Avoid just inviting members from your age group. Seek out people older and younger than you to invite to meet together. Find that person who sits alone and talk to her or him. Instead of a focus on building groups that have the same characteristics to “relate” with one another, you center your discussion in the work of Christ. He will bring the group together. ⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: Russell Almand in "Community and Age Diversity" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"If we put our faith in temporal things, they will "If we put our faith in temporal things, they will inevitably let us down. They were never meant to be enough for us. Not alone. When Barnum finally does hit bottom, he recognizes that his heart has been led astray, fooled into thinking that fame or fortune could satisfy him."⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: @slimkeman in "The Greatest Showman" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"Porn. We are only now beginning to realize the ex "Porn. We are only now beginning to realize the extent of its effects on the brain, relationships, and society at a time when sexually explicit content is just a click away. Christians have recognized pornography’s negative impact for decades, yet it is still often considered a “male” problem within the Church. This can leave women who struggle with porn addiction feeling isolated and alone. The organization SheRecovery (formerly Dirty Girls Ministries) aims to change that and has become a resource for women with porn addiction. You can read more about their ministry at the link in our bio. ⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: Lisa Gagnon in "Dirty Girls Ministries" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"The presence of my sin reminds me of my great nee "The presence of my sin reminds me of my great need for grace, and good works are the outpouring of a grateful heart; being a good child is not a means of earning the favor of God."⁠
⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: Sally Blotzer in "Forgiving Failure" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"As Christians, we identify ourselves not only by "As Christians, we identify ourselves not only by how we handle our daily lives, much like those around us, but also by an added component: our faith. How we pray and worship and spend time with our fellow followers provides additional meaning to our lives."⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: Matthew Hamilton in "Does Your Form Determine Your Function?" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
📷: Photo by Lum3n from Pexels⁠
Often I picture Jesus telling us to love others an Often I picture Jesus telling us to love others and not to judge. I forget that when he said, “Come follow me,” he wasn’t just inviting us to a strict set of rules but to a real and exciting life whether you turn out to be a pastor, a doctor, designer or simply “Dad.” Sometimes I forget one of his main messages was that he came to give us a better life than we could ever dream of—life to the fullest. Jesus wasn’t locking us down to a vocation or job title. It’s as if he was saying, “Real, vibrant life is available to you now. Following me, loving me and living like me is your real calling…the rest is just there to aid you in following, loving and living.”⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: Wendy Van Eyck in "Living For A Purpose" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
Like Morpheus, I want to “show you how deep the Like Morpheus, I want to “show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” There is yet another parallel between the Christian story and The Matrix, simultaneously the most foundational and the most captivating. It’s that something which is missing, something which is not quite right with the world. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know that it’s there. At the outset of the first film, Neo is searching for it. Trinity asserts that “it’s the question that drives us.” Morpheus claims that “you can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes.” The question is: What if I’ve only ever scratched the surface of all that life has to offer? What if there is a deeper, truer current of reality, ever-present behind all of my life’s experiences, to which I might awaken at any moment?⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: @slimkeman in "Tumbling Down The Rabbit Hole" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"I’ve always been intrigued by Augustine because "I’ve always been intrigued by Augustine because we all struggle with temptations to sin. And we all struggle to live in a way that honors God. Like Augustine we all feel the tug of our past sins that say, 'Don’t you want to enjoy us?' And Augustine’s story relates to Galatians 5:16-26 where Paul tells us about how the Christian life is like a walk. In a way, walking is a metaphor for the Christian life." ⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: @the_christopherscott in "In Step With the Spirit" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
"The Holy Spirit empowers us for Christ-like livin "The Holy Spirit empowers us for Christ-like living, and for serving others." Where in your life or in what ways has the Spirit enabled you this week? We'd love to hear, tell us in the comments below!⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
.⁠
✍🏽: @the_christopherscott  in "In Step With the Spirit" | Continue reading at newidentitymagazine.com⁠ by visiting the link in our bio and tapping on the image.⁠
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Subscribe

More Articles

The Light of Christ

I was afraid of the dark as a kid. But when the light came on and I could see again, I wasn’t afraid any more. That is what Jesus did for this world. Where it was … [Read More...]

Happy Spring! The New Issue is Here!

We hope you enjoy the latest issue of New Identity Magazine! You can read it online or download it for free. You can also purchase a print copy … [Read More...]

God, What Do You Want Me To Do With My Life?

That must have been choreographed,” someone said after my wife and I danced the first dance at our wedding. But our first dance at our wedding was not choreographed. … [Read More...]

Copyright © 2023 New Identity Magazine. All Rights Reserved · Log in