Secrets of the Vine
Breaking Through to Abundance
By Bruce Wilkinson
Multnomah Publishers Inc. - April 2001
ISBN: 1576739759 - Hardcover
Nonfiction Inspirational

Reviewed by: Nancy Marie, MyShelf.Com
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Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundance focuses its attention of some of the last words of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of John 15:1, where Christ calls Himself the true vine. Wilkinson using this analogy as the starting point for his work, goes into great detail about the reasons pruning is necessary and the benefits to be gained from such ruthless cutting and hacking away of deadwood and/or unnecessary growth, i.e. deadwood being sin in our lives and unnecessary blooms meaning all the wasted time and actions we exert trying to do what we think we ought to be doing, but which might not necessarily be what God wants us to do.

Using example after example from the world of viticulture, the art of growing wine-producing grapes, Wilkinson deftly pulls deep Biblical insights from Christ's words, and shows the reader how pruning is not only not a bad thing but is necessary in order to achieve an abundant harvest. For without pruning, as Wilkinson so clearly points out, the vine grows wild and bushy, but produces no fruit since all of the vine's resources and energy are used up in that growing process. And because the whole point of cultivating a vineyard is to produce fruit, i.e. grapes, a vine that is not pruned is useless.

Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundance was given to me by a friend, when I was going through some particularly trying times in my life. I latched onto the book and gained some amazing insights to the reasons behind my trials. Although it did not ease the pain of these trials, understanding their cause did make my burdens easier to bear.

All in all, after having read Wilkinson's previous book, The Prayer of Jabez, which I did not particularly care for, I must say that Secrets of the Vine: Breaking Through to Abundance ministered to me in many unexpected ways, and I highly recommend it for anyone experiencing a period of trials and tribulations in their lives.

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Nancy Marie is the author of When You Wish Upon A Star.