Cultivation
I'm going to talk about cultivating this month. The Biblical definition of cultivating is to prepare and work the land for growing crops, signifying a responsibility to care for and nurture God's creation. It also extends to spiritual growth, referring to the intentional process of nurturing virtues, developing a deeper relationship with God, and becoming more Christlike. Cultivating prepares the heart, leads to surrender, focuses on intimacy, creates space, and happens in private. This is a topic I'm still trying to understand. I was recently at a Bible Study where we were discussing this and some key points I got from it were that spiritual cultivation is:
An intentional process of drawing closer to God, deepening one’s relationship with Him, and aligning one’s heart with His will.
Involves practices like prayer and studying Scripture and engaging in acts of service.
Includes cultivating a Christlike mindset which involves intentionally developing Christlike thoughts and actions in your life.
Cultivating our hearts could look like breaking up the hard places that hinder our spiritual growth such as unforgiveness, bitterness and selfishness. This involves a lot of human effort and divine grace. Like a garden, cultivating our hearts means we need to pick the negative weeds out and nurture positive qualities. In essence, the Biblical concept of cultivation emphasizes the interconnectedness of the physical and spiritual realms, highlighting humanity's role as caretakers of creation and those responsible for actively growing in faith and virtue
“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 15:1-2
This passage is part of a larger discourse where Jesus uses the analogy of a vine and its branches to illustrate the relationship between Himself and His followers. It emphasizes the importance of remaining connected to Christ (the vine) for spiritual life and productivity, and the role of God the Father in nurturing and refining believers. Jesus identifies Himself as the source of spiritual life, the vine, and God as the one who cultivates and cares for the vine and its branches.
“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit."
This refers to those who profess to be followers of Christ but do not produce spiritual fruit, meaning they do not live a life that reflects Christ's teachings and character.
“While every branch that dose bear fruit he prunes so that it can become more fruitful.”
This highlights the aspect of divine discipline and refinement. God actively works to help believers who are producing fruit to become even more fruitful. Pruning involves removing unproductive parts of the branch, allowing the remaining parts to focus their energy on growth and producing more fruit. The key takeaway is that remaining connected to Christ (the vine) is essential for spiritual life and bearing fruit. This connection is not just a one-time event but an ongoing relationship of trust, obedience, and reliance on Christ's life and teachings. The question I'll ask you is are there any areas in your life that need to be cultivated?
Prayer
Lord, I pray you cultivate us and help us pick those weeds that are holding us back from a true meaningful relationship with You.
Amen