I hate to admit it, but in the seven years or so that I have had a lemon tree growing in my back yard, not once had I done any paring or pruning. However, after last year’s harvest yielded only five lemons, I knew that I had to do something. Following some studying courtesy of Google, over this past winter I set to work with a saw and sharp hand trimmers. Dead branches were removed, and unproductive living limbs were cut way back. Then I stepped back to await the arrival of Spring.
Now that Spring is here, I’m already seeing signs that I took some proper steps. Nearly every branch is bursting with blossoms, giving me hope that my lemon harvest this year will be at least ten times my results from last year. It’s remarkable what some pruning can yield, but it really shouldn’t be surprising.
John 15:2 states “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” In this one verse, we see that God has known all along that paring and pruning are necessary in our lives, because we have a tendency to pursue paths and options that simply aren’t fruitful. What we usually don’t realize at the time is how much the pursuit of these options drains precious resources from the pursuit of the things that we were supposed to be working on. If we don’t pare and prune, God will do it for us.
This can be a personal struggle for me, as I have always preferred to be a multi-tasker, working on a number of things at the same time. I have found that there are natural periods of down-time with certain efforts that I can easily fill with other projects, and that I sometimes come back to one project with greater clarity and energy as a result of the diversion. However, I have certainly been known to try to juggle too many balls at one time, and when that happens, there isn’t enough energy to go around. By trying to do too many things, I usually wind up not doing any of them as well as I should.
If you are like me, therefore, you may find that to be more productive moving forward, you must first cut back, and submit to some pruning. It isn’t fun, and sometimes it can be downright painful. And when you are in the middle of doing everything that you think you must do just to keep your head above water, it can be nearly impossible to figure out what you should cut back. But if your purpose is to produce lemons, then start by cutting back those things in your life that aren’t producing fruit. Allow your energy to flow to the places that will glorify your God-given purpose. After all, that is what you were made for.
Peace and blessings – Pastor Aaron