The True Vine

 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 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.” (John 15:1-5 NIV)

The True Vine, 2020

Brush pen on paper 9” x 18”

The inspiration for this week’s piece was waiting for me right outside our front door. Our  front porch is currently consumed by a fantastic mountain of grape vines. Extending from end to end, their vines intertwine amongst the pickets, climb up the side of the house, and sprawl onto the front steps.

Many aspects of these plants were visually exciting to me; their grand scale, the light that shone through the leaves, the stunning range of bright green hues. In the end, however, it was their contours that won the contest - hands down. I felt that brush-pen was the ideal medium to capture these lovely fluid lines. Pen drawings require a slow and patient hand. I took two weeks creating this piece in order to give it the time it needed.

Like the rendering of this pen drawing, the cultivation of my subject has been a process that has taken time. Our incredible wall of grape vines didn’t appear over night. This has been a process that has taken multiple seasons over the course of many years.  It began six years ago with three small grape plants. During the cold months of winter and spring, the plants appeared to be nothing more than ugly dead sticks. Though no new growth was visible for months at a time, the plants still required care and protection from harsh frosts (and skeptical family members who wanted to tear out the unsightly “dead” sticks). Everyone (except Chelle the gardener) was quite convinced the plants had died by the time summer rolled around but amazingly the sun brought new growth. Vibrant green vines and beautiful lush leaves miraculously emerged! But with the coming of fall the plants must be pruned back to their original vines, leaving only a few inches of the new growth. This is a necessary step done to conserve the plant’s energy for the long harsh winter and promote new growth in the upcoming year. Season after season, year after year, these grapes have been nurtured, watered, pruned, and protected… and so it went for five years. On the fifth year, a small gift appeared; one tiny bunch of fruit! The grapes actually produced GRAPES! The entire family celebrated the one tiny bunch of fruit with joy and copious photos.

We, like plants, also go through seasons and what we need to grow and thrive varies depending on the season we are in. Fortunately, our Heavenly Father is the master gardener! He knows exactly what we need now and how to prepare us for the seasons to come. In this world of instant everything (instant gratification, instant verification, instant messages, instant mashed potatoes) I think it’s easy to forget that growth is a process and one that takes TIME. Too often we give up and decide that our efforts (or our prayers) are ineffective, simply because the results are not immediately visible. Take the grapes for example; throughout several seasons the grapes appeared to be dead and it was only because of the faithful (and protective) gardener that the plants flourished in their proper season. We too must remain patiently in Jesus and trust “the gardener” as He prepares us for our season to shine.

Terms like “growth” and “seasons” translate pretty straight across in an analogy for life but what about “fruit?” What is our fruit? Our fruit could simply be the things we produce (pardon the pun); our works, our deeds, our words. Or perhaps it’s something deeper. In the book of Galatians, Paul provides a list detailing the fruit of the (Holy) Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV). Most of these things definitely take time and the help of the Holy Spirit to cultivate! Sometimes I think we give up because, when we finally do bear fruit, we perceive it to be too puny. Our small fruit pales in comparison to our idealized vision of what real fruit should look like. Don’t you know that God is excited about your tiny fruit! Like human gardeners, He is super stoked to see that one little bunch of grapes! God has been faithfully tending you, pruning you, watering you, all so that you might grow and produce this good fruit. Your one little fruit is cause for a huge celebration and it is proof that God has been faithfully growing you this whole time. Celebrate your tiny grapes! God is smiling down on you and cheering for you. Remain in Christ and you WILL bear much fruit!

As you enter this new week I leave you with these three questions to ponder:

How might God be growing you in this season?

What does it mean to you to remain in Jesus?

And last but not least, are you celebrating your little fruits with God?

P.S. If you feel like God is using the pruning shears on you in this season Pastor Aaron Richner’s message on the Power of Pruning might be just the word for you :)