WATCHWORD:
1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:1-5
Meditation:
Tough Love 1
If you have read or seen CS Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, you’ll remember the great lion Aslan pads around the edges of the story appearing at strategic moments along the way to save the four lost children from danger and guide them home. Before the children meet up with Aslan, they befriend a couple of kind Beavers who tell them all about the lion, and suddenly the children aren’t so sure they want to meet the giant lion.
“Is he quite safe?” Asks Lucy. “I shall feel quite nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will,” said Mrs. Beaver. “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” Ask Lucy again.
“Safe?” says Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king. I tell you.”
Aslan represents the Christ-figure, the physical incarnation of God, in the fictional land of Narnia. And if we know anything at all about God, we know that God, like Aslan, is anything but safe. Like Aslan, God is no one’s pet. God will do what God wills to do; and God will do what is best for us, even if we don’t understand, even if it frightens us. God isn’t safe, but God is good. And if God is good, then God can be trusted.
This is the nature of genuine love: good, but never entirely safe — if by safe you mean tame or powerless. Parents know that kind of love, a love that it’s genuinely good, but never entirely safe. Parenthood requires us to do what we believe is in the best interest of our children, even when our children do not understand it, or see it as fair. Practicing that kind of love requires an obedience to a higher purpose, a sense of vocation that’s higher than simply being your kid’s best friend. That’s why they call it parenthood and not friendship.
God is not entirely safe, but God is entirely good. Sometimes God does the hard thing with us in order to prove that goodness, and sometimes we have to live with that in order to prove our faithfulness to God. Tough love?
Jesus puts it this way: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” , you and I are the branches. The vinedresser’s ultimate purpose for the branch is to bear fruit. That is our purpose. That’s why we are given our place on the vine – to grow and bear fruit. Every branch that doesn’t bear fruit, says Jesus, the Father removes, cuts away; and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it may bear more fruit.
Jesus says that there are seasons when God cuts away the dead stuff in our lives, and there are seasons when God has to do a little pruning, even among the healthy branches, to ensure that we are still growing and bearing fruit for tomorrow.
If you’re like me, you wonder what, specifically, that cutting and pruning looks like, and how we can know if it’s God that’s doing the snipping, or if it’s just life, or bad luck, or circumstance. Perhaps it’s the lab results that come back with bad news, maybe the sudden death of a loved one, or your life is blown away by a hurricane or floods, the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetime. Does God cause such things to happen, in order to make us better, or more fruitful people? We may wonder, how could that possibly be an act of a loving God?
We will explore this idea more deeply in the next Watchword…So be it.
Closing Prayer:
It is with grateful hearts that we acknowledge that this is the day that you have made. Kindle in us full appreciation for the graces and gifts that flow from you, so that we may walk this day in the warmth of your love, stir in us an abiding sense of gratitude as we rejoice and are glad in the day you have given us. And now, May the Lord Bless you and keep you, May the Lord cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord look upon you with favor and give you His peace. Amen.
