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Theo Tigno•
5/21/2003 6:45 am
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Wednesday, May 21st 2003 |
John 15: 1-8
Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for the support of teenagers who are living out the Gospel message, that they remain strong and that they are a light for those who see them, both young and old.
I remember the first time I saw a tree pruned. I thought it was insane.
As time when on, though, I saw how beautiful the tree bloomed.
God chooses to prune us through His great understand despite our petty pride (which needs to be pruned as well). In our weakness, all we can see is pain and suffering. Through His love, we can see our pathway to the perfection that God calls us to, and ultimately His calling for us to reach heaven.
You are a beautiful creation. God calls us all to beauty, and through our pruning, we become beautiful. I heard a story from a friend of mine last week regarding the statue of David carved by Michaelangelo. When asked how he saw David in the stone, he simply said, "I carved everything away that was not David." God takes a look at us and sees a lot of things that are not us. He sees the things that hold us back from perfection and beauty. He sees the things that bind us to this earth. So, He takes out his hammer and chisel... His clippers (and, maybe even a chain saw)... and He calls forth our beauty by taking away everything that is not beautiful within us.
This is how our trials are merciful. This is how our struggles lead us to heaven. We can choose to remain on the vine and connected to Jesus or we can choose to rot away because we were unwilling to be pruned to be fruitful. If we choose to fall away from the vine, we are worthless. Our beauty withers away and we die. Our calling is not to death, but to life. Our calling is not to ugliness but to holiness. Our calling is not to become vines ourselves, but to stay attached to the vine so that we may remain beautiful.
Child of God, you are very beautiful. Your sufferings are not a testament to how ugly you are, but how much more beautiful you can become. Take care and God Bless.
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