Cleaning the clutter

By Rob Hurtgen

May is one of the busiest months of my year.

In the month of May, I will honor my mom, my wife and my girls on Mother's Day. I have the privilege of celebrating the high-school and college graduates in my church. And I get to recognize Memorial Day with an incredible barbecue.

Of all the wonderful events in the month of May, one that ranks high on my priority list is to clean out the garage!

Sweeping out the months of road grime and salt left over from the winter.

Going through the shelves of stuff asking, "What is this, and why do I have it?"

It may just be me, but when I get rid of unimportant junk, I can then focus on what really matters.

Cleaning out the clutter clears up my priorities.

In John 15, Jesus illustratively speaks of himself as the true vine, his father the vinedresser. Jesus says in John 15:2, "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he [God the vinedresser] takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it will bear more fruit."

God as the vinedresser prunes and clears out the clutter in our lives.

The vinedresser inspects each branch, looking for signs of health and decay, and then takes the pruning shears to the branch. He squeezes the handles while watching the blades pierce the outer layers of bark until the branch tumbles to the ground.

Pruning pierces. Pruning cuts. Pruning separates. Pruning is painful.

In general, the natural tendency of men and women is to resist pain.

We reason, "Pain, hardships, and trial are not the good things that God has for me, so I need to get as far away as I can from what is causing me pain."

When we look at pain as opposed to God, we can miss what God the vinedresser wants to produce in our lives through his pruning.

I can look back at painful times in my life and, while I did not enjoy them and I complained about them to those who cared the most for me, I can now see how God used different seasons of pruning to produce the fruit he desired. I am better today because of God's pruning.

When God cleans out the clutter in your life, know that he has a greater good than this slight, momentary affliction.