NEW GROWTH

“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.”

Song of Solomon 2:11-12

The winter is finally over. Spring has come with its warmer weather, new growth, and anticipation of new things to come. We all love the spring when our thoughts turn to new beginnings and our eyes turn to the beauty all around us. Spring makes us hope again as we witness new life everywhere.

Thinking of new life and new growth reminded me of Jesus’ words in John 15. “I am the Vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1). We have to be pruned by the Father so that we will bear new growth in our lives. “I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

We must always stay connected to Jesus so He can nourish us with His Spirit and we can produce new growth, continually, which matures to good fruit. “This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit…” (John 15:8). The Father wants every one of His children to bear good fruit, so we need to stay attached to Jesus and encourage new growth in our lives.

Thinking of spring also turned my attention to the other meaning of “spring.” A spring is a place to draw water. It usually is an ever-replenishing source of water. Jesus calls Himself the “Living Water.” “If you knew the gift of God and Who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10). “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:37-38). Jesus is the Vine we must stay connected to and He is the Living Water that feeds our new growth and enables us to produce good fruit.

So, as we look at spring all around us, let’s remember that we need Jesus. We need His presence in our lives (the Vine) and we need His Spirit (the Spring) to enable us to be productive in our lives for Him so we can bring Him glory!