Today someone came over and worked on a large, old oak tree in my front yard. It had a lot of bad limbs and some that I just wanted gone. He was up in that tree for hours pruning and cutting until he got it just right, in fact, he had almost all of his gear packed up and ready to go when he looked up and saw one last little piece only about ten inches long, but he got back up in the tree and cut that piece down. Seeing him work like that made me think about what Jesus said in John 15:1 "I an the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
If I don't remain in Jesus (the Vine) God (the vinedresser) will cut me off, just like some of those bad limbs, but if I serve Him with all my heart, mind, body, and soul, He will prune me back (take away the parts of me that don't bring Him glory) so that I may become more effective for His kingdom. We put those bad limbs in a chipper and turned them into mulch, or hauled off the bigger ones for firewood. I don't want to be firewood or mulch! I want to bear fruit for my Lord and Savior! I want to be pruned so that I become more effective for Him!
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