I Am Willing

Once upon a time there was an old grape branch; it had been growing
in the vineyard for a long time. One day a new branch was planted
in the next row. The younger branch grew, developed more branches,
and bore fruit.
Taking courage one hot summer day, the young branch looked up
at the old branch and said in its squeaky voice, “It must be great to have
people travel from miles around just to taste the sweetness of your fruit.”
The old branch nodded.
Feeling encouraged, the young branch continued, “I have been
talking with the other branches in the garden, and they say yours is the
sweetest fruit.”
The old branch smiled.
“When I grow up, I want to be just like you! How can I have sweet
fruit like yours? I’ll do anything you say.”
As the old branch looked down on the young branch, he remembered
the day when, as a young branch himself, he had asked an old
branch the same question. In his baritone voice, he gave the young
branch the same answer he had received years earlier: “Be willing.”
The young branch mused in frustration, Be willing? I tell him I’ll do
whatever it takes to have sweet fruit, and all he can say is “Be willing”? Then
he turned to another branch and began carrying on what he felt was
meaningful conversation.
Each day there was constant chatter in the vineyard as the
branches shared the latest gossip and wasted the hours away by comparing
the sweetness of their fruit. The young branch knew there was
no other place he’d rather live.

One cool autumn morning, the young branch was awakened by
the sound of the old brown, weathered gate opening. As he looked at
the end of the row, in stepped the gardener. Normally when the gardener
came to visit, the vines would clap their leaves together and
shout with delight. But something unusual was taking place that day.
A hush swept over the garden. The young branch glanced over at the
old branch, who didn’t seem to be disturbed; so the young branch
directed his attention back to the end of the row.
The gardener stopped by the first branch in the row; the young
branch was sure he had come to compliment his friend on her fine
growth. But watching intently, he saw the gardener bend on one knee,
reach into his back pocket, pull out what looked like sharp scissors,
and move toward his friend.
Instinctively the branch at the end of the row pulled her leaves
back, and the young branch heard her plead, “No, no, why are you
doing this to me? Haven’t I been sweet? Didn’t I bring honor to the
garden? Please, please, don’t do this to me!”
Before the young branch could blink, his friend lay on the ground
except for the nub. The young branch turned to the old branch and
asked in a low, fearful voice, “What’s happening? Why did the gardener
do that?”
The old branch did not respond.
The young branch strained to understand and then blurted out,
“Oh, I get it! We thought the gardener liked that branch, but he really
didn’t like her.”
The old branch responded, “No, that’s not true. In fact, what you
just saw the gardener do proves he loves that branch.”
“Oh. I knew that. Let me try again. We thought that branch’s fruit
was sweet, but it really wasn’t sweet.”
“That branch’s fruit was sweet.”
“O.K., O.K. I know the real reason. That branch did something
wrong, so the gardener is punishing her; he’s just not telling us why.”
The old branch answered, “That branch is not being punished.
Listen carefully—your friend is being pruned. Not because she was
trying to do things wrong, but because she was trying to do things
right. Not because her fruit was not sweet, but because the gardener
wants it to be even sweeter.”
“But that doesn’t seem fair!” protested the young branch. “Just
look at her. She’s been cut down to the nub. Now all the people who
come to taste the sweetness of her fruit will laugh and judge the
branch.”
“Only those outside the garden who don’t understand will laugh
and judge the branch.”
“Only those outside the garden who don’t understand? That
branch didn’t understand! Did you hear her say, ‘Why are you doing
this to me?’”

The old branch was quiet for a long time and then responded
slowly, “Unfortunately, what you’re saying is true. It’s one thing when
people outside the garden don’t understand; but when those inside
the garden—especially the ones being pruned—don’t understand, it
causes a lot of confusion, disappointment, and pain. Those branches
down at the end of the row will have to listen to your friend murmur
and complain until she blooms again.”
The young branch proclaimed, “Well, you don’t have to worry
about being pruned. You have the sweetest fruit in the garden!”
“I want to be pruned.”
“You what? It must hurt, and you’re going to look funny.”
The old branch chuckled and replied, “I must admit it’s quite
uncomfortable. You see, my young friend, I know I look good to you,
but I have a fungus growing on my underside that no one can see. If
it remains, it will diminish the quality and quantity of my fruit. No,
when the gardener comes to prune me, I won’t pull my leaves back.
I’ll lift myself high in the air to make his job easier.”
Trembling, the young branch responded, “I don’t understand.”
With compassion the old branch replied, “Did you see that branch
the gardener just tore off and threw over the fence? It didn’t belong
in this garden at all and will be burned in a fire.”
“Wow!” exclaimed the young branch.
“When the gardener comes to prune you, remember that the gardener
only prunes the branches that belong to him, which makes it an
honor. He doesn’t prune you because you’re trying to do things
wrong, but because you’re trying to do things right. It’s not because
you’re not sweet, but because he wants you to be sweeter. And always
remember, my young friend, the very fact that you’re being pruned
means you will bloom again.”

Just then the gardener stopped by the old branch, and the young
branch saw the old branch raise his leaves high in the air. He heard a
snip, and the old branch lay on the ground except for the nub. Then
the gardener turned to the young branch. His leaves were shaking, and
tears rolled down his side, but with every ounce of strength he raised
his leaves high in the air. He looked up into the gardener’s face and
said, “Kind and gentle gardener, I’m willing.”

-Excerpt from "Biblical Womanhood in the Home" by Nancy Leigh Demoss

Jesus said...“I am the true 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).