10/2/11 This weekend's cool temps coupled with a willing hubby allowed time to "tidy-up" in our yard. Notice I said yard, not lawn. We're yard kind of people so we don't have a landscape design as such. But even to this inexperienced eye, I knew we needed some pruning. If for nothing else than to bring in light to the middle of the bush. This would encourage new growth. But to get that light we had to remove dead, broken or diseased branches. Suckers, those odd branches that had started growing from the base of your tree, and even the spindly branches needed to be removed and discarded---in order for us to return it to the shape it was meant to be.
Believers are a lot like that. Believers have a spiritual shape. S.H.A.P.E. = Spiritual Gifts; Heart; Abilities; Personality; Experience. (C. Keeth) It's our God-given makeup. People have gifts to offer others, a heart that houses their passions, abilities that aid them in using their passion to minister to others, the perfect personality for their calling and the experiences that affirm this. But to maintain that "shape" one needs to rid themselves of the "useless" and to walk in the light of God's Word. Live with His perspective. Allow Him to light your path. Discard your junk. Leave it on the curb.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)As I stated in a 3/13/11 blog, Pruning helps to bring balance and it guides the shaping of the plant (or person) to be all it (or she) was intended to be by the one (or One) who planted it. Pruning both in the garden and in our spiritual lives is necessary for healthy growth. We have to get rid of the superfluous and useless parts that compete with the healthy growth---
Prune the part that doesn't let in the needful light!
