Hacksaw Discipline

Many times over the course of my life, I have experienced times of prosperity. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, some happy, prosperous, fruit-bearing part of me has suddenly been taken away. Sometimes this loss was nothing more than a wave of depression, or an extended season of insomnia. Other times, I lost a more tangible part of life, like a home, or a ministry, or people. Everyone with a pulse knows how that feels: painful, like a tree losing a limb.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. – John 15:1-2

Just imagine being a branch connected into the central vine. As a branch, you do what you are supposed to be doing, which is bear fruit. Some of your neighboring branches bear no fruit, but you don’t let their laziness affect you. One day, the vinedresser comes down along the trellis, inspecting and tending his vineyard. You see him looking over the fruitless branches, and then cutting them off and taking them away. Knowing how much fruit you bore during the last harvest, you consider your situation safe. Perhaps he will give some kind of reward for your faithful work. But when the vinedresser comes to you, he is holding the saw in his hand. And he cuts. And he cuts. And he cuts. What cruelty! Why?!

Because it is the only way you will keep growing fruit. Don’t take my word for it. You don’t even have to trust the Bible, if you don’t consider it a reliable horticultural guidebook. The Iowa State University Master Gardener Program has this to say about pruning grapevines:

Reasons for pruning               

Grapevines produce fruit clusters on the previous season’s growth (two-year and older wood is not fruitful). Before pruning, an average grapevine may have 200 to 300 buds which are capable of producing fruit. If the vine is left unpruned, the number of grape clusters would be excessive. The vine would be unable to ripen the large crop or sustain adequate vegetative growth.

The purpose of pruning is to obtain maximum yields of high quality grapes and to allow adequate vegetative growth for the following season.

Laymans’ translation: If you don’t hack off parts of the grapevine periodically, it will stop growing good grapes. An unpruned branch makes more grape clusters than it can support, and the result is crummy fruit.

We talked about these verses in the high school group a couple of weeks ago. While driving home afterward, another passage of the Bible popped into my brain.

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:5-11

It has been awhile since I’ve studied the book of Hebrews. I’m pretty sure I haven’t looked at this passage since I’ve had the perspective of having children who were old enough to need discipline. Being a father is the most difficult thing I have ever done. And the most difficult part of being a parent is disciplining my kids. Why do I do it then? They obviously don’t like it. And if I don’t like it either, then why? Because it’s good for them, and I love them. Those are the two necessary ingredients for discipline.

Love, or course, is foremost. It would be the easiest thing in the world to neglect disciplining my children. If I didn’t love them, I wouldn’t. Who cares? Let them do what they want, and kick them out when they turn eighteen. The problem with this approach is that undisciplined kids grow up to be horrible adults. If you want to test this out, I suggest you help out in the Dublin Christian Mission out in Ireland for a little while. You’ll meet all kinds of little rascals who don’t have the slightest bit of discipline in their house. Wear a cup. And you’ll meet plenty of adults who grew up in such an environment. Most of them are between jail terms. Discipline, you see, is good for kids. They need it, and even though it is hard, you’ll do what it takes to train your kids if you love them.

And that’s what God does for us. The difference between God’s discipline with us, and mine with my kids, is the character of the one doing the disciplining. I do not have perfect patience. I don’t have a clue what the future holds. I am completely capable of selfishness. God, however, is a different story, isn’t he? He disciplines us in just exactly the way we need so that we will be ready to face what is coming at us tomorrow, the next day, and ten years from now. He never loses his temper. And absolutely everything he does is for our good. That is a comfort.

It can be hard to accept sometimes, God’s discipline along with the assurance of his love. But the very fact that he bothers with us is proof that we are his, and that is also a comfort. In fact, what better comfort is there in difficult times? God is showing us his love, because we are his children.

image source: Laboratory Manual of Horticulture