One day in the Spring of 2016, I casually mentioned to my husband that I wanted to learn to garden one day. Well, being the loving, thoughtful, and crafty husband he is, I guess he took that “one day” as the very next week. For my birthday shortly after, he built me the most beautiful, raised garden bed in our back yard. Of course, I had to pour myself into reading and watching videos about gardening. One of my favorite plants to learn about growing was tomatoes. As it turns out, the care of tomato plants really brings to life the illustration of gardening we find in John 15.
Tomato plants have these tiny shoots called “suckers” that grow in the V between the main stem and a branch of the plant. It is vital to prune these suckers as soon as you see them because, if they’re left alone, they will literally “suck” the nutrients, energy, and growth potential from other parts of the plant. The suckers grow quickly and can make the plant appear large, leafy, and healthy while quietly choking off the fruit below it. Removing these suckers doesn’t hurt the plant, in fact, it’s purposeful so the plant can grow where it was meant to.
It didn’t take long for the Lord to begin lovingly revealing where this pattern would show up in my life. The “suckers” in my life include obviously negative things: bitterness, unhealthy habits, or irritation. On the other hand, often, they can appear fruitful: busyness disguised as serving others, avoidance disguised as boundaries, or laziness disguised as rest. Volunteering for others, boundaries, and rest are all, at their root, good and God-honoring. However, if they aren’t done with God’s guidance, discernment, and purpose, they do not yield fruit.
The most important part of this equation, however, is knowing what God is pruning and what He is letting grow. John 15 talks at length about remaining in Him. The act of remaining (or “abiding” as some translations say) in our Lord is far more than a short devotional can contain. To put it as concisely as possible, the Greek word for abide in John 15 also means “to dwell” and “to wait for.” It means to rest, to be present. We must continuously remain in Him to know His voice and to be able to discern what His will is for our lives. Verse 5 tells us that He remains in us as well and verse 7 clarifies that His words should remain in us. If we aren’t reading His Word regularly and resting in those Words, we cannot expect to have the discernment to follow His guidance to take the path that will produce the most fruit.
To put this into perspective, think of the last time you said you would help an acquaintance with a project that you knew, deep down that you didn’t have the time or energy to commit to. While on the surface, helping this person sounded like the right thing to do. But, would your “no” have been better? Did God want you to say “no” so it would give someone else the opportunity to say “yes?” Were you supposed to say “no” so the person would be challenged to learn something God was teaching them?
The beautiful truth in all of this is that God never prunes to harm us—He prunes because He loves us. Just like with my tomato plants, the cutting is never random, and it is never cruel. It is always purposeful. Our Father is a good gardener who knows exactly what must be removed so that real fruit can grow. He does not withhold good from us; He leads us into it. When He asks us to release something—whether it feels negative or even deceptively good—it is always because something better is being protected or prepared. As we remain in Him, resting in His presence and listening for His voice, we can trust that every act of pruning is guided by love, not loss. And in time, fruit will come—exactly where it was always meant to grow.
