Good Morning Friends,
“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. You
are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I
will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the
vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 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.” (John 15:1-5)
Staying connected to Jesus can be painful
sometimes. There is this pruning that He does in our lives. He isn’t content to
leave us alone and let us stay at the place of maturity which we have already
reached. He’s always pushing us to change and sometimes that is uncomfortable.
Pruning in a vineyard can’t be fun for the
vines, either. A pinch here, a cut there, it must be uncomfortable for them,
assuming there is such a thing as pain for a plant. But the truth is, the vine
is better off for the pruning. It can send more nutrients to the healthy parts
of the plant and it will produce more grapes for the harvest. And, after all,
it’s the harvest, both short-term and long-term, that the vinedresser is after,
that’s the purpose for which the vine exists.
So it is with the followers of Jesus. A pinch
here. a cut there, it is uncomfortable to have things pruned out of our lives.
The truth is, we are better off for the pruning. More energy goes to the
healthy parts of our lives, and there’s more fruit produced, too. After all,
the fruit is the purpose of our lives, it’s why we exist.
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear
much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)
Pruning is painful! But it is helpful, too!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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