Sunday April 29th, 2018 5th Sunday of Easter John 15:1-8
"He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit." (verse 2)
I am not a good gardener. I don’t know how nor do I like to prune. We once had a crabapple tree in our yard. If a branch had any blossoms on it, I left it. After all, I reasoned, better a few apples than none. And those suckers on the tomato plants? I leave them. They might produce small tomatoes, but if they were gone, they’d produce none.
Thankfully, God has a better green thumb. God is a pruner and experience tells me, an aggressive pruner, for God wants an abundant crop. If we take the verse to a personal level, we see God pruning those things in our lives which are harmful and unproductive. It can be a very painful experience, because some of what God prunes, we might like keep. Taking a broader view, God prunes within the family of God those things which hinder our growth. Have we ever stopped to think that maybe some of those programs, some of the traditions that have floundered and disappeared from the church, might have been pruned away by God? Something to consider.
God loves us and the church, and will prune so we produce the most fruit.
Loving God, prune us, but heal the scars. Amen. — DAB
Contributed by The Pruner
I am not a good gardener. I don't know how nor do I like to prune. We once had a crabapple tree in our yard. If a branch had any blossoms on it, I left it. After all, I reasoned, better a few apples than none. And those suckers on the tomato plants? I leave them. They might produce small tomatoes, but if they were gone, they'd produce none.
Thankfully, God has a better green thumb. God is a pruner and experience tells me, an aggressive pruner, for God wants an abundant crop. If we take the verse to a personal level, we see God pruning those things in our lives which are harmful and unproductive. It can be a very painful experience, because some of what God prunes, we might like keep. Taking a broader view, God prunes within the family of God those things which hinder our growth. Have we ever stopped to think that maybe some of those programs, some of the traditions that have floundered and disappeared from the church, might have been pruned away by God? Something to consider.
God loves us and the church, and will prune so we produce the most fruit.
