pruning
Now there are lots of books that talk about the use of the concept of pruning in scripture, but the following quote from a university agricultural department web site really intrigues me:
“Without training and pruning,…fruit trees will not develop proper shape and form. Properly trained and pruned trees will yield high quality fruit much earlier in their lives and live significantly longer.”
So pruning is about training. I won’t properly grow without being pruned. If I embrace the pruning (training) process, I’ll bear better fruit, sooner, and will have a longer, more effective ministry.
“A primary objective of training and pruning is to develop a strong tree framework that will support fruit production. Improperly trained fruit trees generally have very upright branch angles, which result in serious limb breakage under a heavy fruit load. This significantly reduces the productivity of the tree and may greatly reduce tree life.”
Interesting. Without necessary pruning, my branches will grow upright, instead of widespread. The stronger and more widespread my branches are, the farther my fruit will reach. And I’ll bear more fruit and have a longer, more productive ministry.
Pruning isn’t pleasant, because it means that a part of who I am is stripped away. But the more the dead, diseased, weak and “growing in the wrong direction” parts of me are stripped away, the more fruit I’ll bear and the longer, more effective my ministry will be.
“Without training and pruning,…fruit trees will not develop proper shape and form. Properly trained and pruned trees will yield high quality fruit much earlier in their lives and live significantly longer.”
So pruning is about training. I won’t properly grow without being pruned. If I embrace the pruning (training) process, I’ll bear better fruit, sooner, and will have a longer, more effective ministry.
“A primary objective of training and pruning is to develop a strong tree framework that will support fruit production. Improperly trained fruit trees generally have very upright branch angles, which result in serious limb breakage under a heavy fruit load. This significantly reduces the productivity of the tree and may greatly reduce tree life.”
Interesting. Without necessary pruning, my branches will grow upright, instead of widespread. The stronger and more widespread my branches are, the farther my fruit will reach. And I’ll bear more fruit and have a longer, more productive ministry.
Pruning isn’t pleasant, because it means that a part of who I am is stripped away. But the more the dead, diseased, weak and “growing in the wrong direction” parts of me are stripped away, the more fruit I’ll bear and the longer, more effective my ministry will be.
