Pruned in Love

ABOVE: I really like black and white photography! The picture above is an orchard of Almond Trees which have just experienced their Winter pruning. This ensures they will be even more fruitful in the next season. See the dead wood and unproductive branches discarded on the ground?

YOUR FRUITFULNESS BRINGS GLORY TO GOD!

The bible talks a great deal about our destiny. But what is our destiny? It is the fullness of our inheritance in Christ! One day we will experience our eternal destiny, but in this life, all the blessings in Ephesians Chapter 1 (and much more) are ours. Before Jesus returned to heaven, He told His disciples "I desire that you bear much fruit ... fruit that will last ... it is to my Father's glory that you bear much fruit." (John 15). These words express the deep desire of Jesus for you and all his disciples. He said the more fruitful we are, the more it brings glory to God. So how do we become fruitful?

YOUR FATHER IS AN AMAZING GARDENER!

One of the ways fruitfulness happens is when we are 'pruned' by our Heavenly Father. He is an amazing gardener. He cuts off every branch in our lives which doesn't bear fruit. Goodbye unforgiveness, resentment, anxiety, gossip. This dead wood stops good fruit from growing. But Jesus also said that God prunes the branches which are already bearing fruit. Like any good gardener knows, if a branch is looked after well, it has huge potential to bear so much more fruit. Good sees your potential and what you are capable of, so pruning is all part of His loving plan for your upgrade. The end result is even more growth and fruitfulness. Have you ever seen a tree FULL of abundant fruit and admired it? We know how that happened. How good is God that He prunes us for our greater fruitfulness.

"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."  (John 15:2)