Pruning

Dusty lagged behind this morning; so many good smells to investigate! I half-turned back to check her progress and found myself facing one of the many solid trees lining the path to the ‘fort’.  I pass it every day, at least once, and have noticed before the long finger of growth stretching towards the ground. 

Absent-mindedly I’ve assumed it was a weird root, like on trees in the rain forest whose roots reach from above ground, but today I recognized that it is, in fact, just a normal – but errant – branch finding its own way round a bigger branch. A branch that should be pruned.

The tree would benefit from some pruning. It would look more stately, its trunk reaching to the sky and sturdy branches only growing from it. 

I thought of John 15. Jesus is the metaphorical vine and the Father is the expert gardener, knowing exactly where to prune. Unfruitful branches are naturally lopped off but it’s interesting that those bearing fruit are also pruned so that they bear more fruit.

If we are going to resemble Jesus, we need pruning. All of us. Otherwise we become unbalanced. We may lose effectiveness because we are distracted by so many ‘good’ things to do. Sometimes the Father prunes away good things in our lives, because he has better things for us to do. It doesn’t feel good. In fact, it hurts.

But in the end, as we abide in Jesus, we will bear more fruit for the kingdom. 

So if you’re in a season of pruning, hang on. You’re going to be beautiful.