Breaking Off The Bad Ends

 John 15:1-5

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

All my life, I’ve been around gardens and crops.  While my father has been a small engine mechanic the majority of his life, he is also a farmer.  I’ve learned many important things about life through my time farming.  One time when I was a young boy, I saw dad in the garden and he was tearing off stems and vines from some of the plants.  I also noticed that when dad would raise tobacco, there would be a time when he would top the tobacco.  That is where he would cut off the “flower” that was growing at the top.  He told me that to produce an abundant crop of the best, he had to prune. It might look as if that portion of the plant was going to die, but new growth would spring from the wounds. 

Our conversation helped me understand why the Lord sometimes acts as a pruning knife in our lives. To get a plentiful crop of spiritual fruit, He must remove anything that hinders us from becoming the person He designed us to be. The process is often painful as God cuts away fleshly habits and worldly attitudes, but His pruning results in us becoming a more accurate reflection of Jesus Christ.

Being loved by God doesn’t mean being coddled. Our comfort is not His primary interest. Just as a grower prunes a plant to get a bountiful harvest, so God must sometimes cause us pain in order to bring forth greater spiritual growth, Christlike character, and abundance.