Good
morning!
My friend has a vineyard, a family business. She doesn’t let just anyone prune her vines. Pruning is more difficult than you might think! She knows her vines and her task of caring for them well. She watches over her vineyard throughout all the seasons and prunes just at the right time—not too early or too late. She knows which branches to cut and how much—and which branches to leave uncut and allow to grow in the direction they are growing.
I know from watching my father prune our Granny Smith apple tree when I was a kid that we cut back fruit trees to get more fruit! When we stop pruning, the trees may produce less fruit and/or smaller fruit. The trees stay healthier, too, when we prune, as they are less vulnerable to disease and insect infestation.
Jesus in John 15:1-11 says he is the “true vine” and God is the vine grower. We are the branches. We can count on God to prune and discipline us if we do not bear the fruits of the Spirit and have love, faith, joy, patience, kindness, or self-control. We can get lazy sometimes or get a bad attitude and decide we don’t need to be obedient to Him. The Lord gets our attention in some way, perhaps through some kind of a trial, such as a health or financial crisis or a struggle in a relationship with a family member or friend. But it may not be as dramatic as that. He may simply close a door we are stubbornly trying to go through—because that is not where he wants us to go because He has other plans for us.
But here’s the most interesting thing about this passage in John, I think. God doesn’t just prune us when we fail to bear good fruit. Every branch that bears fruit God also prunes –to make it bear more fruit! That means that while we are walking in Christ’s ways, obeying the Spirit’s leading and doing what is right, we will still be pruned!
Being pruned can be frightening and humbling. How will we know if we are being pruned because we are being disobedient or are being pruned simply because God wants to move us in a different direction or accomplish His work through us in a different way?
When we are being pruned, we may struggle with self-doubt and question our ability to hear His voice—or that His Spirit is still leading us. We may feel frustrated and sorry for ourselves. We may blame the Lord for the trial and be angry with Him. We may complain bitterly and ask, “Why me?!”
When you are being pruned, friends, as it will happen to all of us, let us avoid self-pity, anger, bitterness and blame. May we, instead, remember that God loves us! He has good things planned for us! We have a future with hope if we are Christians, believing that He gave up Jesus, His Only Son, so we could be forgiven and have abundant and eternal life. We may not understand why we are being pruned and not know what lies ahead in the path of life, but we needn’t be frightened. God is not punishing us! Christ, who experienced more suffering and pain than we can imagine, will always be with us.
Let us draw nearer to the Lord with the confidence of His children. Let us trust the vine grower to shape us into the healthy, fruitful branches He wants us to be. And let us eagerly obey Christ who urges us to weather our trials with the joy, peace, and fruitfulness that comes from abiding in Him.
“Abide in me,” he says, “as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. … Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
When we abide in the Lord, we can let go of anxiety and fear. We experience Christ’s peace. When we abide in Him and abide in His love, we are able to love others and trust that God, our merciful Heavenly Father, will use all things to lead us to bear much spiritual fruit for the sake of His kingdom and the salvation of the world.
Jesus says, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
Will you pray with me?
Holy Lord, we are so grateful that we can trust in you to enable us to bear good fruit and walk on the righteous path. Thank you for your Spirit that guides and empowers us and gives us such gifts as love, joy, patience, kindness and self-control. Forgive us when we have been afraid when you have felt the need to prune us and have struggled with self-doubt and frustration. Build up our faith and confidence in the Spirit’s good work in us. Fill us with your joy and peace. Draw us nearer to you so that we will abide in you and your love—and you and your love will abide in us—forever and ever. Amen.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Karen
My friend has a vineyard, a family business. She doesn’t let just anyone prune her vines. Pruning is more difficult than you might think! She knows her vines and her task of caring for them well. She watches over her vineyard throughout all the seasons and prunes just at the right time—not too early or too late. She knows which branches to cut and how much—and which branches to leave uncut and allow to grow in the direction they are growing.
I know from watching my father prune our Granny Smith apple tree when I was a kid that we cut back fruit trees to get more fruit! When we stop pruning, the trees may produce less fruit and/or smaller fruit. The trees stay healthier, too, when we prune, as they are less vulnerable to disease and insect infestation.
Jesus in John 15:1-11 says he is the “true vine” and God is the vine grower. We are the branches. We can count on God to prune and discipline us if we do not bear the fruits of the Spirit and have love, faith, joy, patience, kindness, or self-control. We can get lazy sometimes or get a bad attitude and decide we don’t need to be obedient to Him. The Lord gets our attention in some way, perhaps through some kind of a trial, such as a health or financial crisis or a struggle in a relationship with a family member or friend. But it may not be as dramatic as that. He may simply close a door we are stubbornly trying to go through—because that is not where he wants us to go because He has other plans for us.
But here’s the most interesting thing about this passage in John, I think. God doesn’t just prune us when we fail to bear good fruit. Every branch that bears fruit God also prunes –to make it bear more fruit! That means that while we are walking in Christ’s ways, obeying the Spirit’s leading and doing what is right, we will still be pruned!
Being pruned can be frightening and humbling. How will we know if we are being pruned because we are being disobedient or are being pruned simply because God wants to move us in a different direction or accomplish His work through us in a different way?
When we are being pruned, we may struggle with self-doubt and question our ability to hear His voice—or that His Spirit is still leading us. We may feel frustrated and sorry for ourselves. We may blame the Lord for the trial and be angry with Him. We may complain bitterly and ask, “Why me?!”
When you are being pruned, friends, as it will happen to all of us, let us avoid self-pity, anger, bitterness and blame. May we, instead, remember that God loves us! He has good things planned for us! We have a future with hope if we are Christians, believing that He gave up Jesus, His Only Son, so we could be forgiven and have abundant and eternal life. We may not understand why we are being pruned and not know what lies ahead in the path of life, but we needn’t be frightened. God is not punishing us! Christ, who experienced more suffering and pain than we can imagine, will always be with us.
Let us draw nearer to the Lord with the confidence of His children. Let us trust the vine grower to shape us into the healthy, fruitful branches He wants us to be. And let us eagerly obey Christ who urges us to weather our trials with the joy, peace, and fruitfulness that comes from abiding in Him.
“Abide in me,” he says, “as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. … Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
When we abide in the Lord, we can let go of anxiety and fear. We experience Christ’s peace. When we abide in Him and abide in His love, we are able to love others and trust that God, our merciful Heavenly Father, will use all things to lead us to bear much spiritual fruit for the sake of His kingdom and the salvation of the world.
Jesus says, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.”
Will you pray with me?
Holy Lord, we are so grateful that we can trust in you to enable us to bear good fruit and walk on the righteous path. Thank you for your Spirit that guides and empowers us and gives us such gifts as love, joy, patience, kindness and self-control. Forgive us when we have been afraid when you have felt the need to prune us and have struggled with self-doubt and frustration. Build up our faith and confidence in the Spirit’s good work in us. Fill us with your joy and peace. Draw us nearer to you so that we will abide in you and your love—and you and your love will abide in us—forever and ever. Amen.
Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Karen
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