God uses many agricultural examples to explain what He is doing here on the Earth, as He works out His plan for mankind. Parallels drawn from husbandry make His analogies obvious to the converted listener. The people of God are the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 100:3). In referring to the righteous and the wicked, Jesus said: "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world'" (Matthew 25:32–34).
Jesus also used the plant kingdom in His parables, to depict both those who are good and those who are evil in the Father's eyes. "But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn [the kingdom]"'" (Matthew 13:29–30). In Matthew 13:41, we find that the angels are the reapers.
What horticultural example applies to those God has called? Does the Father simply let them grow wild like the berry vines in a field, or trees in the deep forest? Or, are we cared for as a farmer lovingly tends an orchard or a vineyard? Jesus gave us the answer: "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 bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (John 15:1–2). Anyone who has ever grown roses knows that if you do not prune a rose bush, it will return to a wild state. Any nourishment it receives will cause it to grow long, thorny and good-for-nothing branches, instead of producing beautifully colored roses.
If God Has Called You, Expect Pruning!
A true child of God, called by the Father and given into the hand of Jesus Christ for safekeeping and training, must expect pruning— which comes in the form of correction. When we receive this special attention, it is proof of God's love for us. When trials come, a son or daughter of God should not be surprised. "And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: 'My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges [prunes] every son whom He receives.' If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons" (Hebrews 12:5–8).
When Christians are pruned— even by correction that may humanly seem to be too harsh, unjust or undeserved—we are storing up for ourselves a greater reward in God's kingdom. And we can withstand that correction—and grow! "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13).
God did not call us to fail! If He was not sure that (with Christ's help) we could successfully endure the pruning He must give us, we would have been left in the world until the second resurrection. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 'I and My Father are one'" (John 10:27–30). Only we can remove ourselves from the hands of Christ and the Father—but to do so would be to reject the very salvation we are seeking!
God's Love for Humanity
What kind of trial would cause you to leave the truth of God or take you out of His Work? Could you endure disgrace and rejection in the eyes of others? Could you face the threat of an excruciatingly painful death? What could make a son or daughter of God turn aside from worshiping the Creator who loves mankind so much that He wants to share eternity with us? "As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:36–39).
Our Savior, Jesus Christ—the second member of the Godhead— loves us so much that He was willing to risk His eternal life to save all the human family. Yes, it was a risk! Had Jesus slipped just once, He would have died for His own sin and we would not have a Savior. The Word, divesting Himself of glory and divinity, became flesh. He offered up His sinless body to a vicious scourging so we might have physical healing in the flesh, and sacrificed His perfect life for our sins, by the shedding of His righteous blood as He hung in agony, nailed to the crucifixion stake. Then, through the resurrection, He became our High Priest, interceding on our behalf before the throne of God. "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death, whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it" (Acts 2:23–24).
Called To Be Corrected
No matter what accusations, humiliations, degradations or insults are presented to us in this temporary life, they are less than nothing compared to the glory God has in store for us when Christ comes. "But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2). We are all sinners, and we all have faults—which Christ is trying to correct by pruning us.
Trials come in many forms, affecting our finances, our health and our relationships with other people. Sometimes we may think a trial is not justified; we may even feel that we are receiving correction based on falsehoods or lies told about us. But this does not make our correction any less beneficial! "Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: (1 Peter 2:18–21). Jesus Christ was perfect, yet He was murdered because His humility and righteousness threatened the religious leaders of His day. "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation" (John 11:48).
Years ago, when my son Mark was 10 years old, I punished him for something I later found out he had not done. After I apologized to him, he graciously accepted. Then, I asked, "How many times have you done something you should have been punished for, but were never caught?" As a mischievous smile crossed his face, he answered, "Plenty." I suggested that he simply apply the spanking he had received to one of those times. He nodded in agreement, and I hugged him, thankful for his honesty.
Even when we feel we have been unjustly corrected for something we did not do, we can be grateful that we were not swiftly punished for all the sins we committed in the past, and we should thank God for His mercy and longsuffering toward us. "Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:5–7).
The True Source of Persecution
Satan the devil is seeking to destroy the plan of God. He knows that he has a very short time left before Jesus Christ will return and remove him from his position of rulership over the earth. Satan knows that he has lost the game, but he is still playing for points! The devil wants to hurt God by depriving Him of the sons and daughters He has called. Satan does this by trying to plant—then water and fertilize— any seeds of spiritual bitterness we may allow to take root in our minds. We must be "looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled" (Hebrews 12:15).
As Christians, we must never let our guard down—not even for a moment! We cannot afford to take a "vacation" from prayer, Bible study, fasting and meditation! When we do stray from God, Satan is always at hand, waiting to rush in upon us. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you" (1 Peter 5:8–10). God allows us to experience trials when we fail to follow Him fully, but He will rescue us when we cry out for deliverance. "'Now, therefore,' says the Lord, 'Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.' So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm" (Joel 2:12–13).
The devil enjoys pointing out our faults and sins to other people, and to our Father in heaven. But in the end, Satan will be silenced— when God intervenes to remove him from his seat of power. "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "'Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death'" (Revelation 12:10–11). How can we overcome Satan? By our testimony to the world—even at the peril of our lives—that Christ will soon return to the earth to set up the globe-girdling government of God!
Regardless of the Source
No matter what the source or provocation of a trial, a Christian will rise above the hurt, no matter how painful the correction. Even when a trial comes about unjustly, a Christian will endure it patiently— no matter how hurtful the insult, how damaging the false accusation, or how saddening the betrayal. Even when our reputation and character are falsely maligned, we know God will use the trial to strengthen us— for our eternal benefit.
King David suffered the pain of having friends and family—and peers whom he loved and admired— turn against him. "For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in the throng. Let death seize them; let them go down alive into hell [the grave], for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them" (Psalm 55:12–15).
Facing such disappointment, David knew where to go in times of trouble. He knew Who would uphold him. "As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me" (v. 16).
Not Much Longer Now
Those who are called, chosen and faithful will not need to wait much longer for God's intervention— for His salvation from the persecutions and corrections that sometimes seem to wash over Christians like the waves of the sea. Until then, we can be happy in the trials we must endure, because they serve Christ's purpose. "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6–7).
The pruning process, which every son and daughter of God must endure, "is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer" (2 Thessalonians 1:5). Though often painful, this pruning will bear wonderful fruit now and for eternity. God's Spirit "bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:16–18). As Christians, when the Righteous Pruner does His work in us, we should accept it with gratitude.