Pruning Has Begun

Here in Southwest Washington we have had a cold December with many freezes. The freezing has caused the vines to go into their dormant season. The flow of sap has ceased. The leaves have all fallen and have been blown away by the wind. Last years new branches stand stark and stiff through the trellis. It is time to prune away the excess. If I were not to prune away all of the excess, the vine would not be able to handle all of the new fruit it would try to produce next year and the fruit would wither and die off. At this time of year approximately 90% of the branches must be cut off, piled on the ground, and then run through the chipper for mulch. But the most important question is; which branches will be chosen to remain?

Pruning is one of the jobs that I really like to do myself. By choosing the correct branches to remain, the best chance is given to each plant to produce the best fruit next year. When pruning is complete, the vine will have one branch going each direction, that is tied down to the lowest wire on the trellis. Last years fruiting branches have the greatest chance of producing the best fruit for next year with 6 or 8 buds on each remaining branch.

The first way I relate this pruning activity is to our individual spiritual lives. God certainly knows best what needs pruned away in our lives. He knows what needs to be removed. Just like I do in the vineyard, things are pruned away that are unhealthy, broken or weak first. Then the focus changes to what will produce the most and best fruit in the coming season. Does the branch always agree that it needs to be pruned away - absolutely not - I have been slapped in the face many times by an unruly, stiff old branch during this work in the vineyard. But unlike me, God is the master pruner, He takes away exactly what needs to be removed and at the correct time.

The second way I relate pruning is to the church. Does your church have ministries that have been hanging on for years and have produced no fruit? No branches like this remain in the vineyard. Are the fruitless ministries still going so that the organizers feelings don't get hurt? Pruning does cause some temporary pain; it is not a comfortable process for the vine. Just like in the vineyard, God cuts away the clutter in our lives and in our church. Maybe the reason a certain ministry is not fruitful is that it is not longer connected to the vine? Unlike the vineyard, we have the free will to stay connected to the vine or not. The only way to produce the most and best fruit is to stay connected to the vine and let the vineyard pruner choose what needs to go away.

The Dormant Season

In the vineyard, the glory of harvest is over. The fruit is gone, the celebration is over. The leaves have turned yellow and are now completely gone from the Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris plants. The old fruiting vines appear like dead sticks interwoven in the trellis wires. Some of the vines have broken off, while others are split from being bent and twisted during the harvest of the fruit. The branches have done their job for the season, they have produced some wonderful fruit. From the exterior, the plants appear to have no signs of life - it seems barren and dead. But something is going on underground, the roots are growing and storing up the necessary energy for the next growing season - culminating in next years harvest. But right now, this is the dormant season - the season of rest.

Does this description of the dormant vineyard seem like your spiritual life right now? Do you not see any fruit being produced? Do you feel not connected to God? Do you feel no warmth, is there nothing going on?

Maybe you are in a dormant season - a season of rest. Maybe this is your time to let the celebration of the harvest and the fruit you previously produced go. Although nothing appears to be going on in your life from the outside, maybe this is your time to get deep with God. Just you and God, sinking your roots deep and growing them, so that you have the energy and endurance for the change in season to come. The production of the very best fruit and the harvest in the vineyard cannot happen without the dormant season. The future production of fruit and the glorious harvest cannot happen in your spiritual life either without the dormant season - the season of rest and recovery.

Seasons in ministry and seasons in the vineyard are not open-ended. Remember, He is in charge of the seasons - embrace them and stay connected to the vine.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing"
John 15:5