"Prune Me!"

If you have been following The Sanctuary you know that we are on our “Road to Purpose” and we  are in our series “Got Fruit?” We are examining our character and going in depth about the Fruit of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit are characteristics that originate from God. They are defined by His character. When we fill ourselves with the Spirit they manifest themselves in us and as believers we should be bearing the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives. I have done extensive studying and praying about this series as I want to make sure that I am effectively and precisely rightfully dividing the word of God. And while I am studying it out to present to God’s people…I am undergoing quite a pruning process.
 
As I have shared in our lessons that the Fruit of Spirit doesn’t just come by osmosis or even by happenstance…but once you allow the Holy Spirit into your heart a seed is planted and that seed grows and is developed by being connected to the vine and that vine being connected to tree and our tree being rooted and grounded in our Lord and Savior. And we fertilize our tree with prayer, reading God’s word, tests and trials and making the right choices when faced with challenging situations to produce good fruit. And doing this process as our branches grow and produce fruit we often have to prune back our branches. You see sometimes so that we can produce either a new harvest or a better harvest we have to prune our tree. If we do not cut back back our vines correctly, they won’t develop in the right way, and you will not get a decent crop. 

As you all know I am a gardener and I understand this concept of pruning in the natural. I have rose bushes that each year I prune (cut back) so that I can get the best blooms in growing season. So late fall or early winter depends on the weather, I prune back the branches so that when spring arrives I have new branches and blooms that are vibrant red with an aromatic aroma that is absolutely divine. Well while presenting this series on “Got Fruit?” I have been in my season of pruning spiritually.

I would call myself a good person. I try to treat people in a respectful and courteous manner at all times. I make an effort to walk in empathy, be faithful and loyal, demonstrate self-control, be kind and gentle when it is possible and I try not to murmur and complain when I am made to wait. But as I present this series, I have been tested to see if I “Got Fruit?” and it has made me to look at my tree and see that I have been  missing the mark.

I never try to put on airs and pretend that I am a super believer who does everything right. If you are looking for that person…she does not live here. In The Sanctuary we are authentic, real and transparent from the top to the bottom. And with that being said…I have not innately displayed some of these character traits. I have made excuses as to why I couldn’t….because nothing ever happens for me so I will not try, I don’t want to be hurt like that again, I have tried and if they want to be that way…let them be, or the best one…I will love them from a distance. What is that? Imagine if God loved us from a distance?

You see some of my fruit is more develop than others on parts of my tree. What I found through self-examination without rose colored glasses, is that some of my Fruit is under developed because I have “conditions”  and "excuses" hindering the development.  As I stated I am a PK “preacher’s kid”…so I know about the Fruit of the Spirit. This isn’t new to me. But as I began to compare what is required to what I define myself as to what I have been producing....I knew that it was time for a good old pruning. My husband Monte made a very enlightening statement in the meeting this past Friday as we were discussing Longsuffering, Kindness and Goodness; “we have been using this title “Christian” very loosely”. And he is so right. 

We were commanded in Galatians 5:22 to display God’s characteristics not when it is convenient, when it feels good, when we are on display, or when it is being reciprocated….but these character traits should innately be part of us as believers.  We are to be the image of Christ in flesh if we confess to be believers. We are to display kindness to those who have differing and opposing viewpoints. We are to show goodness and serve those who we know can’t reciprocate. We are to be patient and be longsuffering, not murmuring and complaining when things have not worked out the way we thought they should or if we are made to wait. We are to maintain self-control and not to get angry and retaliate against those that we know who have purposely hurt us and said all kinds of manners of evil. Yes…it may seem hard, but when we look at how Jesus walked in these fruits on his way to the cross to die for us so that we may have life. Or reflect over our lives and see on how God showed compassion, tenderness, patience, gentleness towards us…taking us back time and time again. After this realization I knew that I could no longer make excuses or make compromises as to what I have been commanded to do.  So I stood back and looked at my tree….took out my pruning shears and I handed them to God and asked HIM to prune me.




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