Produce
By Grant Gaines
What made Alexander the Great so great? Was it the size of his army? Was it the advanced technology with which he used to fight? Was it the large amount of money Greece pumped into their army? Or was it something else?
While all of the above factors certainly played a large part in making Alexander so great, I would argue that it was Alexander’s strategy that set him head and shoulders above the rest.
Early on in his military career, Alexander would enter into campaigns with what he would call a “Grand Strategy”. As shocking as it may seem to us today, in Alexander’s lifetime generals did not enter wars with an overarching plan of how they were going to conquer the opposing army. Instead, these generals would focus on one battle at a time and would do everything they could to win that given battle, no matter the costs.
When Alexander rolled on the scene with his Grand Strategy that all changed. Alexander wasn’t focused on just one battle, but the entire war. With this in mind, Alexander was the first to be willing to lose the battle to win the war. Alexander knew that a temporary setback was often required before a major victory could be won.
Did you know that our God has the same philosophy? Just like Alexander the Great, our great God has a Grand Strategy, if you will. In Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) the Lord declares, “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” He is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8) and therefore has the grand scheme of things in mind whenever He allows any circumstance into our lives.
And just as Alexander’s Grand Strategy often found him willingly losing a battle in order to win the entire war, God allows us to go through what may seem like a season of “loss” so that we too can reap a greater reward. This idea can be found several places throughout the Bible but today I want to focus on how Jesus, our Victorious General, describes it in John 15:2 (NIV) when He says, “[God] 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.”
So God, who in this story is the gardener, doesn’t just allow us to go through seasons of pruning, He actually does the pruning Himself – He is in control. But before we continue on with the message let’s make sure that we all understand what exactly “pruning” is.
Pruning is an agricultural term that describes the selective removal of part or parts of a plant. The purpose of pruning a plant includes removing a dead or diseased part, improving or maintaining health, or in order to yield a greater harvest of flowers or fruit. “The practice [of pruning] entails targeted removal of diseased, damaged, dead, non-productive, structurally unsound, or otherwise unwanted tissue from crop and landscape plants[1].”
As you could imagine, the literal process of pruning is not a pleasant one. Branches get cut off, leaves fall to the ground, and the plant does not immediately look better because of the pruning process. But as sure as the sun rises, come harvest time, that plant bears more fruit because it went through a temporary season of pain.
Are you beginning to see how this plays out in our lives? God allows various situations and circumstances to enter our lives with which He uses for the specific purpose of pruning us that we might bear even more fruit. These circumstances aren’t pleasant, fun, or immediately gratifying, but it’s in these times of trial that we must remember that there is a Grand Strategy that the Gardener is keeping His eye on as He allows this season of difficulty into our lives in order that we, like the pruned plant, may bear even more fruit in God’s timing.
And notice who it is that God prunes – “…while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2, NIV, bold mine) – He prunes those who are already bearing fruit. It’s the idea that if we are trusted with little, we can be trusted with even more (Luke 16:10). So if you constantly find yourself in a season of pruning rejoice in this truth because, “…you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for Him.” (Philippians 1:29, NLT)! Or as James 1:2-3 (NIV) says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
You can’t get the “produce” unless you first go through the painful process of pruning. So in the name of bearing more fruit which in fact, “…is to [the] Father’s glory, that [we] bear much fruit, showing [ourselves] to be [Jesus’s] disciples” (John 15:8, NIV), let us remember the advice of Hebrews12:11 (NIV) which says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
“My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent His rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV)
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
©Grant Gaines 2013
