Daily Devotional for July 23, 2017
Too Many Suckers
“Mom, why do you break off parts of the tomato plants?” asked Kyra as she and her brother helped their mom in the garden. “Doesn’t it hurt them when you do that?”
“No, I’m just pruning them—removing the suckers,” replied Mom.
“Suckers?” asked Kyra. She grinned at her brother. “Well, don’t throw them away. Give them to Jasper. He likes suckers.”
“No, thanks!” said Jasper. “I like strawberry and grape suckers, but not tomato! What are tomato suckers, anyway?”
“Look at this,” said Mom, and she reached to the center of a plant. “See this large stem with blossoms on it?” Jasper nodded. “And see this small stem just below the place where the flowering branch joins the main stem? Well, that’s a sucker, and if we leave it, it will use nutrients that could go to the rest of the plant. But if we snap it off, bigger and better fruit can develop on that larger stem.” Mom snapped the sucker off as she spoke.
“So pruning is good for the plants,” remarked Jasper.
“Yes,” said Mom, “and I find it interesting because it’s a picture of what God does with us. He prunes away the things that keep us from developing good fruit.”
Kyra laughed. “You make us sound like tomato plants or apple trees or something!”
“God wants our lives to show what the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit,” said Mom. “We learned about them in church last week, remember?”
Kyra nodded. “How does God help us get rid of the…uh…”
“The suckers in our lives?” Jasper finished her question.
“He does it in a lot of ways,” Mom replied. “For example, He often uses other Christians in our lives—like parents or teachers—to point out areas of sin so we can ask for forgiveness and depend on Jesus to help us change. He also uses both the good and the difficult times we go through to teach us and mold us into the people He wants us to be. All those things help us become more like Jesus.” She looked at the neat garden. “That should do it for today,” she said. “Thanks, kids. For being such good helpers, you may each have a sucker—the good kind!” – Judith K. Boogaart
How about you?
Did you know that God is pruning you to bear good fruit as a Christian? When you trust in Jesus, He changes you and uses the things in your life—both good and bad—to teach you and shape you. He also uses others to help guide you and show you areas of your life where you need to depend on Him. As He prunes you and helps you grow, you’ll become more like Jesus.
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