Day 29: Bob Ericksen

John 15:1-3 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."
~
Reflections of a gardener:
This past summer I was walking past a young tree I had rescued from the choaking death of wild vines and thorns a few years earlier.  I like this tree; it turns a beautiful red color in the Fall.  I was pleased to see that the tree was recovering its strength and new branches were growing straight up, reaching for the sky.  Then I noticed that the wild thorns I once removed had already started creeping up into the tree again.
 
I didn’t immediately stop to tend to that young tree as I was doing something else at the moment.  When I did get back to the tree, two weeks later, the wild vines had already wrapped their tendrils around the new tree branches I had admired earlier.
 
With pruning shears in my hand, I started cutting the tendrils and unwrapping the vines from the young tree branches.  This is tender work that must be done gently to avoid damaging the healthy young tree.   A few years earlier, before I first rescued this young tree, the vines had engulfed the new growth to the point where all the branches were bent downward.  The vines prevented any of the branches from reaching up towards the sun.  I spent two days back then removing all of the wild vines with the hope that this young tree would survive.  And it did!
 
This was another teaching moment for me.  Here I am, concerned for the health and life of a young tree, cutting away the thorns and vines choaking the life out of it.  How much more is God concerned for our life?  In John 15, Jesus refers to His Father as the “husbandman”.  Webster’s definition of “husbandman” is “One that plows and cultivates land: Farmer”.  
 
God wants to cultivate us so that we may be healthy and bear fruit.  (John 15:1-3 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.)
 
I had not paid close attention to this tree once I removed the choaking vines a few years back.  Everything was looking good from 20 feet away; I took its health and safety for granted.  I was not vigilant to protect it.  Had I taken a closer look at it on a regular basis, I could have removed any approaching thorns and vines before they reached the branches.
 
Each of us must be vigilant on a daily basis to keep evil from choaking our lives.  We must stay connected to God our husbandman!  Just because we confessed the sin that was choaking the life from us once, doesn’t mean evil won’t start creeping back in again.  Only by keeping our focus on the Son, will His light disperse the darkness that evil brings.  (1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour...)
 
God gave us His only son Jesus to die for us that we might be cleansed of our sin and be saved!   Yet, even after being saved, if we are not vigilant, sin will creep back into our lives, wrapping its tendrils around us little by little until we are captive again.  Thank God for His saving grace!
 ~
"Lord, thank You for Your mercy and salvation in sending Jesus that we might be saved.   Help us each day to be vigilant and focus our thoughts, actions and lives on You.  Grant us the strength we need to resist the temptations of this world.  We ask this in Jesus’ name.  Amen."