The sickly branches
Dead branches can prevent an otherwise healthy rose bush from being able to send out new growth into where the dead area is. Sickly branches aren’t dead; they are alive enough where they rob the rest of the bush of vital nutrients to grow. In a Christian’s life, these things may not be sinful but they do restrain our growth. It may be a friendship, something we do in our spare time, a favorite place we go, or even a favorite television show. Anything that distracts us from completely putting our faith in the Lord is a sickly branch.
Understanding my own sickly branches…
One of the hardest things we can do is admit to ourselves we still battle a sin-nature. Unlike dead branches, which are sins we willingly commit without resistance, sick branches are the things we struggle with that keeps us from the full joy of salvation. To be honest, it is easy to find the dead branches; after all, it’s obvious they are dead. They are corrupt and bear no leaves or blossoms. But sickly branches are still green. Right now, I am struggling to lose weight for my health and mental well-being. And certainly eating isn’t a sin. But as with any other area of our lives, when our sin-nature controls what we eat we have problems.
Through the various letters of the New Testament, we see that the apostles discussed this very thing – the dangers of doing anything in excess. Paul writes, And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand (Philippians 4:5). Jesus said, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess (Matthew 23:25). But here’s the problem – none of these things are sins of themselves. It’s a matter of things being in excess of what we actually need.
Sickly branches causes the entire bush to suffer…
If you will watch a rose bush or any plant which has a sick branch, the entire plant is made weaker by the presence of the sickly branch. Much is the same happens in our spiritual life. That sickly branch sets our soul to war with itself. We enter into a cycle of repentance, march towards victory, and when we least expect it, we fall into needless excess. And sometimes that needless excesses become things we lust after. And when we begin to lust after them, it becomes easy to cross the line into sin. Can a sickly branch turn into a dead branch? Yes it can. And too often we cannot see our own dead branches.
Peter understood the battles with the flesh we have. He also understood Jesus was the key to overcoming them. Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God (1 Peter 4:1-2). When we make a conscious effort to turn away from the temptation of excess, whatever our excess means, we are actually doing the will of the Lord and witnessing His power to transform our life.
Pruning out the excesses…
For some excesses, they are really easy to cut out of our lives. There’s a verse the apostle Paul wrote that I think can be applied here: Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5). Just as many other Christians have said, I’ve caught myself saying “if I can just have this” and “I really just want one more…” But this is the opposite of what we really need. When I’ve made those statements, I am saying that having Christ in my life simply isn’t enough to bring me joy. I need something else.
While I wouldn’t come out and say it, that’s what I think the Lord sees in my life when I place my desires in anything outside of Him. He knows what we need: Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him (Matthew 6:8). We all know we’ve bought things or have eaten things because we simply don’t know when we will have a chance to enjoy it again. But there’s the problem – we are catering to our flesh, our old sin nature.
Avoiding the temptation of excess…
Through Solomon, the Lord gives us advice: Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away (Proverbs 4:14-15). Since last year, I avoid buffet style restaurants much for the same reason a recovering alcoholic avoids establishments that sell alcohol. Identifying what causes the sickly branches in my life, then avoiding those situations is what helps us avoid sin. The rot hasn’t set in yet; we haven’t grown cold to the work of the Holy Spirit convicting us of this sin.
Solomon tells us to avoid those things that cause us to give into sin. His wording is clear – don’t go by it, don’t go near it. Keep going the direction you’re going. It doesn’t have to be food or alcohol. Whatever holds you down from enjoying the joy that a relationship Jesus cam give you isn’t worth what you’re holding on to. It’s sad when a lost person will say they don’t want to become a Christian because of what they will have to give up. It is sadder to hear those words, “I won’t give it up” from a person who claims to be a follower of Christ.
Removing the runners
Runners can be a good thing under the right circumstances. Runners can be used to train a rose bush to climb a trellis. But if left alone, a runner can cause the rose bush to become thin near its base as the rose bush struggles to provide nutrients to the more extreme parts of the bush. Just like dead branches and sickly branches, too many runners or runners that are too long can have a profound impact on the health of the rose bush.
The runners of impatience…
Um, yes. The runners of impatience. We’ve all experienced this at some point in our walk with the Lord. I’ve always felt the calling to serve in the ministry. And because of that, it is easy to get caught up in the emotion. And I’ve known a lot of other Christians who have had the same experience. It took me a while that the Lord does not work within our understanding of time. And most of the time, we don’t operate within our understanding of time either. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit (Ecclesiastes 7:8). So many times we are ready to jump into the race but it’s not how we begin or when that is as important as when we get to the end.
Oftentimes we are discouraged when the Lord begins pruning these runners from our character. It’s painful and it hurts. We often find ourselves questioning what we understand about our faith. We may even question if the Lord truly called us into the ministry. But what I’ve learned is the very thing Peter wrote about: Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (2 Peter 1:10). Our emotions can and often do lead us astray. We can think we’ve been put into a specific ministry by Him, but we have been deceived by our own heart.
Pruning the runners assures us of our true calling…
In the advice of Peter, if we make every effort to get assurances from the Lord about the ministry we are to serve in, then when the time is right we won’t have uneasiness and doubts. No, I am not just talking about those who will go to serve as missionaries or pastors, but the other ministries within the Christian faith. Since feeling the call to serve the Lord in the ministry, it has only been in the last three years where I know I am called to serve: to help small and struggling congregations and to reach out to those who’ve been scorned by the church.
Neither one of those are easy fields and not everyone is called to serve in them. But it is where the Lord has placed me and there’s a great peace in knowing I have no doubts. But there were times I thought I was being pulled to other areas of service in my life, such as missionary support (offer to help missionaries with web sites, mailing newsletters, etc). Did I have the skills for that ministry? Yes, but it wasn’t God’s plan. It was something that I could do fairly easy and comfortably. But the problem is the Lord calls us out of a place of comfort and into a world that can be pretty intimidating. And often when He calls us into a particular ministry, we are put into a place where we must depend on Him.
Pruning allows the rose to grow slow and steady
By pruning the runners, the rose bush will send out new growth to already well-established limbs. This means the rose bush will be fuller, healthier, and will concentrate its energy on developing stronger roots and trunk. It won’t look scrawny and weak. The rose bush will be able to handle storms and will produce a lot of healthy roses. And that’s a lot like what the Lord wants for us. He doesn’t want fast growth where we memorize half the Bible, know three hymns by heart, and can name all the books of the Bible within three months of receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior. What the Lord wants from us is steady growth that brings us closer to Him.
It is slow, steady growth which prepares us for the trials we will face. Paul wrote to the early Christians in Philippi, Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Paul isn’t telling us that each person has their own plan of salvation. But what he is telling us is that each of us will grow and understand salvation differently. And with our Lord and Savior pruning us, our slow and steady growth will mean that we can repeat those words of Paul, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).
