I'll be walking us through the Kidron Valley with Jesus, where he taught his disciples,
John 15: 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He 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.
It's a had concept to grasp at times and in difficult seasons, but God loves us too much to let us carry around dead weight and dead branches. Dead things have a way of being contagious. He doesn't want that "death" to spread anymore in our lives. It's gangrenous. It must be dealt with.
He also loves us so much that he wants us to be more fruitful, so he even prunes the fruit branches in our lives. He wants all the energy to that branch going COMPLETELY towards the fruit he's growing through us. That takes focus.
But neither of these experiences is pleasant in the moment. But when we open our lives up to the bigger bigger of what god is doing, and the fruit he is growing, we will easily persevere.
In fact, we will welcome freedom of dead weight being lifted, and extraneous off-shoots being prunes. We will desire that kind of focus. We will want that kind of fruit.
So what in your life needs to be removed? What is dead and lifeless and weighing you down?
What in your life needs pruned? When can you focus your energies.
I find myself needing to prune my role as a pastor in this season. There are areas where other can do what I'm currently doing better than me. I must prune them and hand them over. I must focus my energies on those things that only I can do.
What about you?
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