What do you do when you overhear someone telling a secret? Do your ears perk up? Do you lean in to see if you can hear more? “Leaning in” is precisely what happened when Jesus told stories, especially because his stories were often brimming with hidden meaning. When he spoke in stories, Jesus would sometimes prompt his followers, telling them that he was about to reveal “the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven.”
John 15 is one of my favorite passages because of how it transformed my life and marriage. It contains the secrets of the vine. Hidden in just a couple of paragraphs are the secrets to experiencing all the fullness of the Kingdom of God. It takes us from a little corner of the Kingdom to its full expanse.
In Jesus’ story, there are three characters: the vinedresser, the vine, and the branches. The Father is the vine dresser, the viticulturist. The Son, Jesus, is the vine. And we, Christ-followers, are the branches.
Jesus said in John 15:1, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”
Viticulture: A Picture of Spiritual Direction
So, what is a vinedresser? A vinedresser is a viticulturist. He is the one who takes care of the vines and the vineyard. His goal is to produce the best fruit possible.
A few years ago, I had the privilege of touring the vineyard of Stella di Campalto in Montalcino, Italy. Stella personally walked us around the vines. On our walk, I asked her, “What is the secret to making superb wine?” She was adamant, “It is all in how we care for the vines.” As the viticulturist, she knew everything about every vine. She knew how each one produced from year to year. She understood the uniqueness of the soil where a vine was planted. Most importantly, she carefully studied every vine. By looking at it, she could tell exactly where the best fruit would grow; she pruned it accordingly.
According to Karen MacNeil in The Wine Bible, “…viticulturists consider pruning to be both an art and a science, and experienced pruners often adopt a Zenlike contentment after spending several cold and rather solitary weeks in a starkly barren vineyard during the winter. What the pruner decides to leave becomes the basis for the next year’s crop. If pruned too severely, the vines’ fruitfulness and strength may be compromised, if pruned too little, the vines will push out too many shoots and leaves and produce too much fruit and become unbalanced. The overabundance of fruit will mean the crop will have a hard time ripening, and this in turn could lead to fewer shoots and stunted growth in subsequent seasons.”
The Father’s desire for us, as children, is that we produce amazing fruit in our lives. He knows everything that has gone in our lives. He knows exactly what healing we need to experience and what character we need to develop. Based on His intimate knowledge, He guides us to themes or passages in Scripture where we can receive transformation designed by Him. As the viticulturist, He is our true spiritual director. There is no other.
Positive Pruning
So, how does the Father guide us to the fruit He wants to develop in our lives? He does it through pruning. Put aside your natural inclination to think of pruning as negative. The pruning of John 15 is entirely positive.
In John 15:2, Jesus continued, "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”
If you were to let a grapevine grow wild, two things would happen. First, the vine would sprout many branches that would never grow any fruit. Unfruitful greenery does nothing but suck the life out of the vine. Second, even if you pruned all the greenery, the vine would sprout so many fruit-bearing branches that all the fruit would be mediocre at best.
So then, the vinedresser, carefully guides the pruning process to lead each branch toward the production of the most amazing fruit possible. He cuts off the unfruitful branches, then he cuts off every branch, except those that will produce the best fruit.
This type of pruning is not painful, it is freeing. When our Spiritual Director reveals His spiritual direction for us, it frees us from all other pursuits. For example, there was almost an entire year where God was developing the fruit of SHALOM (peace) in my life. I probably could have completed a study on SHALOM in just a few months, but God wanted me to become a peacemaker. He wanted the fruit of SHALOM to come to maturity in me. He wanted me to be so covered by SHALOM that I could carry it with me as an offering wherever I went.
During that time, I said no to many other pursuits on my spiritual journey. If someone recommended a book to read, I only read it if it directly tied to God’s journey for me. When I went to church, I went to hear from God, to hear what else He had to say about SHALOM and being a peacemaker. In conversations with friends and family, I was looking what would feed my God-designed spiritual journey. It was freeing to be able to let go of the excess and focus on the spiritual direction I had received from God.
Spiritual Direction Spawns Spiritual Freedom
When God gives us spiritual direction, it frees us from all other religious and worldly pursuits. His direction changes the way we approach our spiritual lives. We go to church not to hear a pastor speak, we go to hear from God regarding the fruit He is developing in our lives. We no longer read the Bible to learn, we read the Bible to hear from God and receive His healing and transformation.
For many of us, spiritual pursuits end up being a mile wide and an inch deep. We get involved in too many church activities, studies, and teaching times, and we never have time to process what we are learning. God wants us to go an inch wide and a mile deep. His desire is that we focus and let amazing fruit come to maturity in our lives.
Check In with Your Spiritual Director
So, where do we start? First, check in with God. Ask Him to be your spiritual director and to reveal the fruit He wants for you. It is not something He will hide from you. He wants you to receive know. Second, be alert to your surroundings and the circumstances of your life to see if there is a place God is bringing to your attention. Be especially alert when you are reading Scripture. See if something jumps off the page at you. Go to where there is life. Then, when you find God’s spiritual direction, camp out there for a while. Stick with that one thing until it becomes a part of you, until the fruit of that Scripture grows to maturity in you.
As you begin this journey, feel free to drop me a note or send me an email. I would love to dialogue with you as you learn about the secrets of the vine.
© 2018 - John Santaferraro
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.