John 15:2 –
He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.
This woke me up this morning since I often feel like I don’t do enough and don’t produce for Jesus. “Cuts off” is not a warm fuzzy concept when you think about it. While we are producing for Jesus we are with Him, but stop producing and we will be cut off. What does that really mean? Will we be cut off from His blessings or the Holy Spirit? Does it mean we lose our salvation if we are not producing? See what I snapped awake!!
Now we also return to Revelations 3:16 talking about lukewarm Christians and see rejection. Where do our branches fall and where do we get spit out to? Do we remain saved but to the “low rent” part? See I think this is more a warning to us not to be wasteful with our time on earth. We will not lose our salvation, but will not be satisfying to God or remain in His blessings.
Now if you read ahead verse 16 says “the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” I assume that’s qualified by being in the branch? But again we look back at verse 2 and notice God prunes those on the vine to produce more fruit. See in gardening something cutting something back will help it grow even more. If you think about it “cutting” and “pruning” are the same thing in a way. Cutting removes the whole thing, where pruning removes parts.
Unfortunately, part of our walk is painful. This pain may not be pleasant in the moment, but is valuable over time. You may need some trimming of “stuff” that is taking over your life that is detrimental to your development as a Christian. This trimming is important so you can focus on God and not get consumed by the world.
I know racing motorcycles was my trimming that hurt. I originally figured since it was a Sunday only thing, I could bring church to the races. That worked when my mother was going, but a move to California ended that time. Eventually my thoughts of saving racers ended and it became all about racing. For those who have raced it all consuming and what started as a potential ministry became a blocker. I did not trim that distraction by choice, but it allowed me to focus on God’s and grow more. Now I just have to work on producing fruit!!