Good morning…
There are separating lines between us. From all sides, opposing forces jockey for power. Good and evil. Left and right. For and against. Us and them. Seen and unseen.
Opposing forces exist also within, as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn illuminates. “Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains… an unuprooted small corner of evil.”
When it comes to “an unuprooted small corner of evil” in the best of all hearts, we come to realize that more uprooting, more removing, more utterly destroying is always needed. Like the overgrowth of ivy in our back yard, there is more uprooting, more removing, more utterly destroying to do. All of us are an oscillating mixture of good and evil, uprooted and unuprooted.
Fortunately, we have a God who is not finished with us yet. My Father examines every branch in Me and cuts away those who do not bear fruit. He leaves those bearing fruit and carefully prunes them so that they will bear more fruit (John 15:2, VOICE). The Greek here for “he prunes” also means “he cleans and clears.”
We can bear more fruit when we are pruned back to this all-inclusive truth: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart—and through all human hearts.” Fully aware of the unuprooted parts of our hearts, Jesus encourages us all. “You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers…remember the root command: Love one another” (John 15:16-17, MSG).
Father, as you examine every branch in me, cut away and prune my heart, day after day. In your perfect time and in your gracious way, please uproot, remove, utterly destroy the corners of evil within me. Clear space for the flourishing of your root command: Love one another.
…Sue…
