“Every branch that does bear fruit God trims clean so it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2).

We planted and cultivated blackberry vines adjacent to our garden in Maryland. Fat, juicy berries were our reward, sometimes twice a year. But if Scott didn’t take care, those vines showed their aggressive side, forcing their way into the rest of the garden and even the lawn. And, Merry Christmas to us: blackberry vines are self-propagating so, year after year, unless Scott was determined in his pruning, those vines multiplied beyond his intended border and joined their meandering brothers. 

But isn’t that what vines are supposed to do? Grow, bloom, fruit, propagate, and spread?  

Of course. And when Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are [my] branches” (15:5), we know He wants us to grow and bear fruit as we wind ourselves around our families and communities and maneuver ourselves into this complicated world. We will be doing what healthy, productive vines do.

But vines need tending and pruning to be their strongest. Blackberries trained along wires and pruned to stay within established borders bear healthy, abundant fruit. God prunes us, too, so we’ll grow in our faith and propagate by producing more Christians. But we do this best within the confines of what He asks of us. We don’t spread willy-nilly wherever we want to go, winding our way around anything and anyone in our path, getting weaker the further away from the vine we extend ourselves. We need His pruning (15:2b) to be stronger, more useful vines.

Scott removed the deadwood from his vines each year and pruned what was left over so we would have lush vines and abundant fruit the next year. God does the same with us, doesn’t he? His pruning may hurt as He uses the sharp edge of His word to cut away the deadwood in our lives. He may cause some suffering as He removes people and things we unwisely cling to. Pruning hurts, but it is productive. What God leaves behind will be stronger; maybe not right away, but growth and more fruit will result. Jesus Himself tells us the Father “trims [us] clean so [we] will be even more fruitful” (15:2).

Just ask our blackberries.

What might be the “deadwood” in your life that you have resisted asking God to trim back or even whack off? Do you have some “branches” that you know are wandering afield of God’s will for you? What would it take this season for you to submit to God's pruning shears? Yes, they may be painful, but what better season to submit your wayward branches to the Father’s expert trimming?

To read or re-read the overview/summary of this week’s passage, you can click here.