Page 20 - Lenten Meditations 2021 electronic edition

W e e k T h r e e

Living A Fruitful Life

Scripture: John 15:1-2
“I am the true vine and my Father is the vine grower. He removes
every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears
fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit.”

As winter comes to an end, my husband, Dan, puts on his “farmer
hat.” Every spring he begins with great anticipation and
excitement, to plan what he will grow in his garden and how he
will do that. He has planted in pots, in a fenced area, in a raised
bed, and even one year, in a greenhouse. His vision each year is
for an abundant harvest of vegetables, fruits, and herbs. But as
most ‘farmers’ know, there are always competitors out there
working against them—deer, rabbits, bugs, and the biggy:
WEEDS! And each year, he works on a strategy to keep them all
away. His remedies don’t always work but he is determined to
win over them, with a bountiful harvest.
We as Christians also want to be fruitful. To do this, we need
work to ‘keep our competitors’ out of our gardens. We need to
identify them, so that we can clear them out. Our world has so
many temptations, that we need to be vigilant in our work. We
need to get rid of useless thoughts, speculations, preoccupations,
obsessions, and fears which can grow like weeds!
We need to cast out our fears and clear out doubt. Let love grow
abundant and free! Let us be vigilant with our prayers and
scripture readings. Always relying on God to help us along the
way.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to pull up our weeds at the
roots. Help us to clear out all useless thoughts, speculations,
preoccupations, obsessions, and fears. If we keep our hearts and
minds focused on you, our gardens can be weed free. In Jesus’
name, Amen

Contributed by Carolyn McCafferty

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