Thoughts While Gardening II

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It's really amazing how the Bible just seems to come to life when gardening. 

The other day, my mom was pruning a plum tree in our backyard in order for the fruits to grow better and to get more sunlight. I saw her pruning and didn't think too much about it. When she finished, she put all the branches into a large recycle bin and left it on the side of the tree.
2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.
Fast forward two days later when I went to the backyard and saw the large bin. All the branches that were green and fine two days earlier were now blackened, the leaves withered and basically dead. 

Jesus' words in John 15 resounded in my mind and I marveled in its truth. There I was, standing in my backyard looking at a bin of dead branches and leaves that were absolutely of no use anymore. Lifeless and dead, they were to be thrown out. 
6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
When Jesus described himself as the true vine and us as the branches, I now had a full visual example of how branches themselves have absolutely no life of their own. If they're not connected, they literally die.  
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 
The whole idea of fruitfulness and bearing fruit took on a whole new meaning for me too. If we are not connected to him, then it's only a matter of time before we wither and dry up too.

I don't know why this whole scene struck me so much, but I guess it's probably because what I had only understood in my mind, I now see with my eyes. I can somehow imagine all the life examples that Jesus used in his parables and stories of vines, wheat, lost coins, oil lamps, yeast, salt, and other every day objects. What a great teacher.




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About Post Author

Born in China and raised in Canada, Lily has recently completed her undergraduate degree in International Development at the University of Ottawa. Theologically, she has had experiences primarily in Chinese evangelical churches (though also influenced by Pentecostal churches). Currently, she is interested in careers in which advocacy, social justice and faith meet. Her life goal is to have a daily curiosity about the world around us and an unbroken compassion for others.

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