Coasting in spiritual neutral, it turns out, is not an option open to you and me. It may feel like it at times. There may appear to be moments when we are just treading water. But, however uncomfortable we may find it, Jesus only seems to offer two possibilities: spiritual progress or spiritual death.
That, as far as I can see, has to be the implication of Jesus’ words in John 15:
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 that it will be even more fruitful.
(John 15:1-2)
Fruitless and cut off
One possibility is for a person not to bear fruit. We get this one. Jesus is describing someone who isn’t living God’s way; who isn’t interested in relationship with their Creator and who isn’t, therefore, demonstrating any fruit of the Spirit. Without an active relationship with Christ, without any indwelling of the Spirit there is no fruitful discipleship. That one makes sense.
It’s the other option that seems more surprising.
Fruitful and pruned
The other possibility is one where a person is bearing fruit, where there is active discipleship and there is an ongoing demonstration of obedience to God and faithfulness in his service. For that person, what Jesus promises is not a pat on the back, but a snip and a cut. My Father is the gardener, Jesus tells us, and he will prune.
Fruitfulness feels positive – it feels like success. We are doing the right things; achieving stuff. And in many realms of life, we might anticipate a little positive reinforcement – a glowing school report, a positive work appraisal (perhaps even with a pay rise or a bonus). And doubtless the Lord is pleased as he grows us in Christlikeness. But there is more – this fruitfulness leads to pruning.
Even with limited gardening skills I think I understand how effective pruning can be. A rose bush you take down to nearly nothing in the winter returns with more fruitfulness than you dared imagine. (Yes, I know flowers aren’t fruit, but it lets us stick with the John 15 language!)
That’s what Jesus says his Father will do here. When he sees fruit, he doesn’t simply stand back and admire, he sets to work. He prunes. He keeps going. The more he sees us growing the more he wants us to grow. His ambitions really are big. He intends that we should bring the Father glory – by bearing fruit that will last (John 15:8,16).
What Jesus doesn’t anticipate is any kind of spiritual neutral. There is no room for a ‘steady as she goes’, ‘just coast’ kind of discipleship. It seems that the principle which says ‘if it isn’t bust don’t fix it’ doesn’t really apply here. Instead, because there is always more fixing to be done, the Father determines to press on with his work. He won’t be finished with us until we are with him in glory – until the day when “we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Until that day arrives, there will always be more pruning to be done.
Eager for the gardener to do more
So, the question that always needs asking is this: ‘What pruning is God up to? Where is he at work? What particular area of godliness has he currently turned his attention to?’ The answer to that question might emerge as we experience a particular battle with temptation. Or perhaps a new area of service is asking something of us that we have always been reluctant to give – and we realise that this is where his pruning shears are at work.
At other times, it may feel more like a decision we reach for ourselves. Rather more like a New Year’s resolution than some kind of divine intervention. Yet, even here, God is no doubt at work to make us aware of the growth in godliness that is needed.
What we can’t do is freewheel. That isn’t an option. Taking our feet off the pedals for a lovely long swoop downhill is a nice way to end a bike ride but it’s not how things work spiritually. The Father prunes. He sees fruit and he prunes. If he isn’t pruning, he’s not seeing fruit – so let’s delight in, and look for, his pruning work.
