dailybeacon

 John 15:1-7 “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. (NIV) 

   There can be little confusion by what Jesus meant when he uttered these words.  We are called by God to bear fruit but we can’t do it on our own.  Even if we are bearing fruit for His kingdom, we are going to continue to be “pruned” so that we can bear even more fruit.     Pruning has never had a positive connotation for me because I’ve done it to rose bushes, raspberry bushes and even lilacs.  It means cutting, removing that which is dead or leads to death, to allow new life.  The end result is positive, the process not so much.  But as with anything worthwhile, if we keep our focus on the prize, the process loses its impact.  No Olympic champion has ever said in the post event interview, “all I can think about now is the pain I went through to get here,” rather the most common comment is, “no mater what I had to go through, it was all worth it!”  If we remain in Christ, our journey of faith will have the same elation at its completion for us

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