Why God is a Gardener

Depending which verse you read, God might be described as a mighty fortress, a hen, a shepherd, or a judge (just to name a few). Does God have an identity crisis? Of course not! Each verse is revealing something different about God’s character. To those under attack he is a fortress; to those who are scattered he is a hen; to those who need guidance he is a shepherd; to those seeking justice he is a judge.

These pictures show us two things. First: they show us who God is. And secondly: they show us who we are. In different seasons of life, different aspects of God’s character will have particular relevance. God meets us where we are and gives us what we need in the moment.

In John 15, Jesus introduces a picture we would all do well to consider in this season of social isolation.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches”

John 15:1-5 (CSB)

How do we bear fruit according to this passage? We remain. While it is sometimes translated as “abide” or “tarry,” the simplest way to summarize this passage is for us to “stay put.” While that might sound like the opposite of “doing,” it’s not. “Remaining” is a verb. And it falls under a list of “ing” words that pepper scripture.

What do these things look like on the outside? They look like doing nothing. A tree doesn’t look like it’s doing much at any given moment. Someone who is “remaining” in Christ might not look like they’re doing much. The only ones who know the difference are you and God. Conversely, there’s activity that ultimately may be nothing. How many of us have read a page of text (every word!), gotten to the end of the page, and realized, “I have no idea what I just read.” Or how often have we spent an evening “relaxing” while doing nothing more than letting Netflix autoplay until it judgmentally asks, “Are you still watching?”

The story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42 (CSB) highlights this well.

“But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.’ The Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.’”

Martha was “distracted” by her tasks. Given the context of the story, she was probably bustling about preparing refreshments, doing the dishes, and tidying up the space. All of these are good! And yet, because they distracted Martha from Jesus, they became the wrong choice.

As many of us find ourselves once more encouraged to “remain” socially distanced, unable to do many of the things we are accustomed to doing, we may become frustrated that there is nothing to do.

Joni Eareckson Tada knows the pain of not being able to do anything.

After her diving accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down, Joni was immobilized on a flat Stryker frame for 12 months. Not only was Joni unable to go to school, work, or attend church; she was unable to even scratch her own nose. Food lost its taste, and she withered down to under 100 pounds. Life lost its luster, and she became suicidal. But (gratefully) without the ability to end her own life, Joni cried out in a prayer of desperation and said,

“God, if I can’t die, show me how to live!”

And God has. While forced to remain in a wheelchair, Joni has learned to remain in Christ. As Romans 5:3-5 (CSB) says,

“…affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Maybe this is a season where the best (and perhaps only) thing we can do is “remain.” But we can be sure of this: God is a gardener, and he is still tending to you. So, remain in Christ and prepare yourself for the new growth that’s coming.