A BRANCH is lifeless without the vine because branches draw life from the vine. Jesus said, “apart from Me you can do nothing” (v.5c). The person who abides in Jesus will bear fruit as a result of keeping an intimate relationship with Him and continuously drawing life from Him. The heavenly Father is the vinedresser who prunes us, removing parts of our life that do not bear fruit. The process of pruning is painful because God is eliminating harmful areas of our life that we have enjoyed, loved or even been obsessed with. Pruning cuts away that which brings decay, thereby promoting life and growth for a higher quantity and quality of fruitfulness! Such fruit-bearing is evidence that we are Christ’s disciples – this glorifies the Father. As we respond by repenting of the sins that God has revealed in our lives, He prunes us. In other words, God rebuilds us from the inside out! Through this rebuilding process, God removes things that have brought us fleeting pleasure, but have been deceptively harmful to our intimate relationship with Christ and preventing us from truly loving Him. Perhaps during this pandemic, the Lord is calling us away from worldly attractions and the noise, so that we may abide in Him. Perhaps God is allowing us to spend more time with those closest to us. As we experience tensions in our homes, the Lord surfaces our pride and shortcomings, so that He may rebuild us. Then in His good timing, the Lord will send us out into the world to shine brighter for Him as disciplemakers for His glory.
