A Letter to the Vigneron
John 15:8-10 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.”
Who am I that I should tell the Vigneron what I need to thrive in His vineyard? For if it were up to me, I would choose a life of ease and plenty. For You, o Lord, survey Your land, You test the soil, You measure the sweetness of the fruits. It is Your wisdom that guides the course of growth in Your vineyard.
I wish to be numbered among those that bear fruit for You, o Lord. Teach me and train my branches to grow on the trellis of Your ways. When I falter, please tie my branches closer to Your commandments. When I become stubborn and unruly, prune my branches with Your chastening. Prune these evil passions out of me.
Stress my roots that I may grow stronger. For I would not choose to suffer of my own, but I ask that You create the right amount of struggle to grow my faith into what You know it can be. Make my branches struggle that the best fruit be produced according to Your discernment. For apart from You, I can do nothing.
Press me in Your winepress for Your purpose until all of my will is crushed out. If I do not learn Your ways, please be patient with me. Evaporate every unclean word from my lips and every impurity from the vat of my mind.
My heart loves You, o Lord. But if over time my love decreases, please be merciful and pour forth Your grace so that the barrel of my heart may be full. Allow this heart to reside in the cellar of Your church for all of my days. May my faith in You ferment until it is mature and pleasing in Your sight.
Keep me on the shelf as a vessel set aside for Your special purpose. When the time is right, take me off the shelf and pour me out as a drink offering. May the guests of Your house not give praise to the wine, but to You, the Vigneron. For no one cares about the vineyard as much as You. It is You who takes the time to train the vines and branches until they become fruit bearing. For no one can bear fruit apart from You, o Lord. Any fruit that is born is a testament to Your commitment to those in Your vineyard, Your love for them, and Your omnisciently skilled hand. There is no greater purpose than to grow for You, bear fruit for You, and be pleasing to You, o Lord.