ByIn the first seven verses of John 15, Jesus was teaching His disciples about fruitfulness. He knew He had to do that since His time for exiting the world was drawing nearer and nearer each day. So to prevent leaving behind a fruitless church or team, He had to show them how to be fruitful in Christ and how God will make them more fruitful through pruning. I’m sure that in the mind of Jesus, He was thinking not only about the disciples receiving this Word but also about us benefiting from it. Today, it’s in the Bible; we read it and apply it principle in our lives.
In this article, I would like us to consider the subject of pruning as Jesus described in John 15:2. What does it mean for God to prune you to make you more fruitful? Before I continue, take a look at that scripture.
“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.”
John 15:2 (NKJV)
We are the branches in the True Vine
You cannot prune a tree that doesn’t have any branches, because farmers prune branches, not trees themselves. Jesus is the True Vine (see John 15:1), and we (the children of God) are the branches in Him. However, the Father is the vinedresser, not Jesus (John 15:1). So the Almighty is the One responsible for keeping the vine neat, not the Son. And He [The Father] does it in two ways:
- Taking away any branch that doesn’t bear fruit.
- Pruning fruitful branches so that they’ll become more fruitful.
You may think that when Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; … ”, mean fruitless believers will lose their salvation. But that’s not what Jesus meant. Jesus was referring to unfruitful Christians becoming irrelevant to the purposes of God on Earth. And I must say that these are the people that carry a form of godliness but deny the power to live Christ-like (2 Timothy 3:5).
How God prunes His children
Now, to the primary purpose of this article. What does it mean for God to prune you as His child? Naturally, a farmer prunes trees so that they’ll bear more quality fruits and not quantity. So in pruning, some fruits get lost. However, with time, those remaining will be very good. That means God prunes our lives of every filthy impurity gradually till each attains the measure of Christ in all things.
While studying this theme in the Bible, I penned down two primary ways God practically prunes His children. Let’s look at them.
1. Removing people
A common way God prunes our lives is by removing people who’re distractors to our purpose in Christ. It starts with friends, sometimes family distances, and goes deep down to sexual relationships.
Haven’t you realised that some people automatically leave your life when you become serious about following God? Do you know why? Because the time you use to talk to them has been taken over by ministry activities. And since there’s a communication breakdown, the friendship bond also loosens.
I would encourage you to be firm with your decision to follow God. Don’t beg the people who leave your life because of your commitment to following God to stay. Never do that, or else you’ll invite multiple distractions to your calling without knowing.
2. Transforming your mind
Two inner locations determine how we behave and live. They are the mind and heart. In Romans 12:2 (NKJV), the Bible says,
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
And in Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV), it’s also written that,
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
So from the two verses above, you must be mindful of feeding your mind and heart with good content, that is, the Word of God.
When you get born again, God exposes you to ministry activities like church services and discipleship lessons with shepherds in a ministry so that you’ll get provided with what you need to grow spiritually.
The more you’re exposed to this realm of life, the more filthy mindsets, strongholds and bad attitudes get dealt with by the working of the Word of God. That is why, preachers, it’s not really necessary to point out the sins of people when you’re always preaching. Keep preaching the Word God gives you, and God Himself will transform your listeners’ lives.
But to you, oh, Christian, do not pluck yourself out of these spiritual cultures built in ministries. Don’t skip church; read Christian books and every relevant material that’ll add to your faith in Christ Jesus. You may not know their immediate godly impact, but you’ll see it brighter in future. Humbly submit to God’s training systems.
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