Strivin' to be sweetened, squished grapes

I began my school year by picking up Oswald Chambers' book My Utmost for His Highest once again. I've read it before, but thought it might be a great way for me to begin each morning before I head to school.

Today as I read the entry for September 2, titled A Life of Pure and Holy Sacrifice, I came across a humorous sentence: "God's purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us." You can read the full devotional here.

This made me chuckle at first, but then as I pondered its meaning, I came to realize the depth behind it. We as Christians want to fill ourselves with wholesome 'milk' so that we become well-nourished followers. This is good, but God may want us to give up that nourishment instead.

Think of it this way: John 15:1-17 speaks of the Vine and the Branches. Our Father is a master gardener. He knows what He is doing in the vineyard of our hearts, even when we have our doubts. Verse 2 says that He cuts off the branches that bear no fruit, while He prunes those that are fruit-bearing so that they would become even more fruitful (paraphrased.) Several months ago, a friend shared something about this passage that has stuck with me. He said that when fruit in our lives becomes ripe, God gathers it and then we begin the fruit bearing process all over again. I never thought of it this way, but realized it is true. It can be downright scary to offer our fruit crop, but it is actually a good thing. It means that our life is being fruitful and we are producing a sweet harvest and aroma to our Heavenly Father. I don't know about you, but that's the place where I want to be. A place of fruit-bearing goodness. A place of being sweetened and squished by the Gardner of my heart.

I encourage you by asking--
How is your heart's harvest today?