“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” (John 15:1,2)
To be in Jesus Christ, the true Vine, is to have the potential to bring forth much fruit unto God. Apart from Him, we are nothing, and can do nothing; but through Him our lives can become a masterpiece. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to bring forth good works and good fruit which will glorify God. We are no longer our own. Our lives are no longer in our own hands. Our dreams are not self-generated. We have a destiny that was given to us before our lives, and the whole world, began. We have been called to reflect the life that the Lord Jesus Christ lived in the unique setting and circumstances that are ours.
Every believer is the planting of the Lord. The Father has taken upon Himself the all-important responsibility of tending to each plant. He is our husbandman, the master gardener. Even as the shepherd knows each of his sheep by name, and knows how to personally tend to each one; so the husbandman knows each branch in the vine, and how to maximize the fruit it can produce.
There is no one more involved in our life than God. There is no one who knows us more intimately than God. There is no one who wants the best for us more than God. We cannot engineer our lives in a better fashion than He can. He knows where we’ve been; He knows where we are; and He knows where He wants to take us. What He has in store for us is so beyond anything we could imagine for ourselves. And to bring that glorious future to pass, all He asks is that we would cooperate with the working of the Spirit of His Son in our heart.
There is no need for us to “get to work” when Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are already mightily “on the job.” Our responsibility is simple: trust and obey. The lilies of the field are not hard at work becoming beautiful, their Maker is the author of their glory. How much more can we rest in the hands of our Husbandman? What you need to grow bigger, and better, and more beautiful in Him; He will add to you. What you don’t need, and will only stunt your growth; He will subtract. He is an expert gardener; and you are His highly valued project. The more glorious you look; the more glory goes to Him. Let Him make you His pride and joy.