A gardener devotes time, attention, and care to his garden. He tills, he sows, he waters, he feeds, he weeds, he watches for and eradicates insects or other creatures that might threaten the garden. It’s a never ending responsibility, and one that the Father has taken on willingly. Listen to thewords of Jesus: 

“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.” 

Here Jesus says that God the Father, as a gardener, had to prune away unfruitful branches. Jesus has unfruitful branches? How could that be? Listen further…

“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. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

So God, as a loving Father and diligent Gardener, wants to prune away those things in our lives which are unfruitful. All we must do is remain in Jesus, and God will help us to be fruitful. 

Back then hall of famer Walter Alston was the manager of the Dodgers. Alston won seven National League pennants and four World Series Championships in his 23 years as Dodgers manager.

Today, Joe Torre is the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Joe has managed the Mets, Braves, and Cardinals, but his greatest success was with the New York Yankees, where from 1996 to 2007, the Yankees went to the post-season each year and won ten American League East Division titles, six American League pennants, and four World Series titles, in addition to compiling a .605 winning percentage with them.

Before moving to the Yankees, Torre had been a broadcast announcer for another of my favorite teams, the Angels, seeing the games from the broadcasting booth, high above the field of play.

Not long after he was named manager for the Yankees, the Yankee’s announcer Phil Rizzuto suggested that managing could be done better from that vantage point, where he could easily take in the entire ballpark.

Torre replied, “Upstairs, you can’t look in their eyes.”

My friend, in Jesus, God also chose to come down on the field and look into our eyes.

Listen to these verses from the NT book of Romans, chapter 15:

“5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

The God who gives endurance and encouragement. Just as a baseball manager trains and encourages his players most effectively from the same level as his players, our God came to us as the God/man Jesus, to look us in the eyes, help us, encourage, and yes, even to save us. Jesus knows you. He understands you. He loves you.

He is the God who gives endurance and encouragement.

Is your hope in Jesus? Do you look forward to the day when you see him face to face? If you know Him now, your hope is well placed. As surely as you are hearing my voice now, you will see Him. That fact alone should, as the apostle Paul said, fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit.