Healthy Tomato Plants

When I was young my uncle Tony, who lived in Silver Lake, taught me about how to grow juicy tomatoes. There was a whole process starting with 'preparing the way'—fertilizing the soil, aerating, etc. Then those tiny plants he began from seeds—he would carefully plant in the prepared soil and watch them grow. His tomatoes were the size of soft balls, juicy, meaty and satisfying to the pallet.

In John 15:1-2, I found some interesting comparisons to Uncle Tony's teaching.

I'm the vine and my father is the Gardner. He lops off every branch that doesn't produce.

As the plants grew and grew, some branches began to flower, others just grew larger and thicker then most. "See those larger thick branches under the budding branches? We are going to pinch them way back so they do not grow any longer. They take all the nutrition from the branches with the flowering buds that will produce the fruit."

I could not help but think that God our Father responds to us the same way. As we grow in Christ and begin to flower—begin to walk and talk as He would have us—He comes into our lives and begins to take those sucker branches off. Now the fruit will be able to grow. All the areas where we begin to grow—He takes away the sin and obstructions that hold us back from producing 'Great Fruit'. Notice He only removes those sucker branches that will stop growth. This could very well mean that some of our character defects remain for another time of pruning.

When I look back on my life I see He has done the same for me! The day of my healing the Lord took that sucker branch of sickness and then another branch of fowl language (cursing). All so that I could produce fruit of health and be able to produce fruit from the testimony of my lips.

Another important thing happened. He grafted me into His vine and stripped me from my husband's mortal vine! No longer do I place all my trust in my husband and have ungodly expectations for his performance. Now I am grafted into the eternal vine, the true vine of life.

As those tomatoes branches grew and the flowers and buds grew into maturity, Uncle Tony began pinching back those other little sucker branches and even some younger flowers on the same branch. This encouraged the more mature tomato on that branch to grow to the max in size and taste!

I have come to this understanding in my life's process with relationships. As I pursued what God had for me while at the same time reaching out to others, we all produced fruit. For whatever reason, circumstances severed those relationships. Possibly those relationships were becoming sucker branches to all parties! I believe for me to produce further fruit and to continue growing separation had to occur. At times like this we do not realize or understand the process. But as time passes and we continue to press into Him we produce—bigger fruit—other viable relationships develop so that more fruit can be produced.

John 15:2-3 He prunes those branches that bear fruit for even greater crops. He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you.

All the while the soil is being tended to with proper nutrition. It has all the plant needs to grow, just as God the Father provides for His Son, Jesus. So as I live and breathe in Christ the Father continues to prune and nourish and free me.

I can not help but to think of a ministry we have now, to collect bread and disperse it into the community. For us personally it is coming to an end so God can further develop the fruit He has designed for us to produce in a greater way! Others will be stepping forward so that we may continue to advance also! This is also about the ever evolving nature of our Sunday gathering--to be open for God to pinch us so that the better fruit may be grown!

I don't want to be one of those wild plants—growing haphazardly; growing every which producing little fruit if any at all! No I want the Vine dresser and the sweet breeze of the Spirit to dress me and guide me as I take my nourishment from the true Vine—Jesus Christ.

May this writing inspire you to carry on in Christ and to produce His kind of fruit—allowing Him to address your vine!

John 15:7-11 If you stay in me and obey my commands you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted. My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father. I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love When you obey me you are living in my love, just as I obey my Father and live in His love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your cup of joy will over flow!