PRUNING SEASON

Thoughts on pruning.. well, that’s something I never thought I’d write about! And yet, it’s what God has been speaking to me about this week, and so I thought I’d share.. because if I knew this a few years ago, it probably would’ve spared me a lot of heartache.

The context of this comes from John 15 where Jesus talks about how He is the vine, we are the branches, and His Father is the Gardener. Verses 2-4 say:

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, 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.

It struck me while reading this that while unfruitful branches are cut off, the fruitful ones get pruned. So, not even the healthy branches are safe from the cutting, which is kind of crazy, because in my natural thinking, why would i cut back a branch that is producing good fruit? Why cut off something that has a good thing going?

I suppose if you’re a gardener, this is all a bit of a no-brainer to you because by definition, to prune means: “trim (a tree, shrub, or bush) by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to encourage growth.”