John 15:1-4
“ I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also 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."
Let me share with you, rather quickly, some things that have been on my heart lately.
The scripture above has been stirring in my spirit for a few weeks now. The words of Jesus are piercing to the core.
In this passage we read that that the Father does a pruning of good branches and a cutting off of bad branches. Have you ever felt like your in this place of pruning or cutting? Let me encourage you...stay there and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work. This verse has really ministered to me:
"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."
The words 'he prunes' also mean that 'he cleans.' The pruning, or cleaning, doesn't always feel good but the benefits and fruit thereafter are bountiful. But we must first submit to God in humility.
With this pruning (cleaning) there comes a need to even declutter our lives. My wife and I are selling our home so before we put the house on the market we emptied a lot of our belongings from the house and put them in a storage unit. Lately, I've been pondering the passage of scripture where the people sold their possessions and gave to the poor. It occurred to me, 'why am I paying a storage unit fee to keep stuff I'm not even needing right now?' We responded to that question by donating about half the items to a local mission (some of those items still need to be delivered.)
My point in sharing this is that with every fruitbearing season we experience, there is going to be a loping off of dead weight/dead branches that are not bearing good fruit or any fruit at all. And we'll experience the bitter sweet joys of pruning/cleaning that allows new life to spring forth. Let this season take it's course. Submit then to God in humility and then in due season He will raise you up.
