Let’s go to the beginning John 15. John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” So we see right away as branches we get all our sustenance from Jesus the vine. All our nourishment from Him. All our abilities come from His life in us.

Now we move on to verse 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.”

It appears to be vital that we bear fruit, because if we don’t bear fruit we are tossed aside for the burn pile. But if we bear even a little fruit the Father prunes our branch (our life) so that we will bear more fruit. Pruning is cutting away the parts that do not glorify Him. To prune a branch requires pruning shears to cut away the bad part, the unproductive part so the branch can be more fruitful. 

That might appear no big deal for the branch of a tree. But in our life, our real life, it is cutting away that which doesn’t make God look good, does not honor God, does not glorify God. It is cut away. 

It is first of all, exposed so we are made aware of its existence. Sometimes we are unaware of sins in our lives and it takes the Holy Spirit to expose it. Why? So we can be made to feel bad? No. We, hopefully, will feel bad and want to confess that sin and repent of it. But that is all we can do. 

We can acknowledge or confess it, but we can’t remove the sin. That is for the one doing the pruning. And it will hurt. Cutting hurts. 

It might not even be sin. It could be simply something God wants out of your life, something that hinders His working through you for His purposes. 

God is kind even when pruning our lives. After cutting away the bad, He quickly covers it with a balm of His mercy then binds up the wound so it can heal. 

More tomorrow. Have a blessed day