stephen R Harrison

I love fruit. My favorite is cold watermelon (no salt), especially after a run. I also love vegetables. Recently, I prepared and planted two raised garden beds with strawberries, tomatoes, okra, spinach, and more. So far, I’ve eaten strawberries, spinach, and mixed salad while waiting for the rest to produce. A pro tip my dad taught me for maximizing the harvest in gardening is pruning. It may seem contradictory, but it actually works! Reducing the excess foliage allows nutrients to feed the whole point of planting. Fruit!

Spiritually speaking, God prunes our lives for fruit. Often, growth takes place by cutting things away, not adding them. In John 15:1-2, Jesus said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Did you notice that? He cuts away two types of branches. We can understand the first one. Removing branches that don’t bear fruit makes sense. However, God also prunes fruit-bearing branches. Why? Pruning isn’t only about removing the part of the plant that fails to produce. It is also about removing the unnecessary parts of the fruit-bearing branch so it will bear more fruit. We love it when the Lord gives, but are we like Job and also thankful when He takes away (Job 1:21)? Pruning requires patience. The pruning season prepares for the harvest season. When I’ve pruned trees and plants, it can seem like I made them worse. But something is going on powerfully beneath the surface. In time, as nourishment is redirected and roots are strengthened, fruit is being prepared. Be patient! We will reap a harvest in due season if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9). 

We should allow God to prune dead branches out of our lives. Hebrews 12:1 says we should “throw off the sin that so easily entangles us”. Of course, we should remove sin because it kills! The Lord disciplines us out of love and corrects us because we are sons and daughters (12:5-6). But Hebrews 12:1 also says we should strip off everything that hinders or weighs us down. Why? So we can “run with perseverance the race marked out for us”. Sin will keep you from bearing fruit in your life God desires. Those who conceal it will not prosper, but those who confess and renounce it will find mercy (Proverbs 28:13). Extra weight will also slow down your fruitfulness. When pruning tomatoes, it’s called “removing the suckers”. They suck the life right out of the fruit. Things like lingering hurt, unhealthy distractions, hidden bitterness, and fear can rob us of spiritual fruitfulness. We must allow God to remove them as we strip them off and give them to Him so He can heal us. 

God desires our lives to be fruitful for His glory, but we need to be pruned. Jesus wants us to be “even more fruitful” (John 15:2) and have “fruit that will last” (John 15:16). However, having fruit is not the ultimate goal. Listen closely here. We can be so enamored with the end result that we miss the ongoing process God most desires. In John 15, one word appears more than “fruit”. It’s “remain”. Eleven times, Jesus says we are to remain in Him, He in us, and in His love. What plant produces anything if it is removed from the soil? We must be rooted in Christ. We are to remain (abide) in Him. The byproduct of this is fruit, more fruit, and lasting fruit, but no fruit comes if we don’t abide in Him. Don’t be obsessed with producing. Be obsessed with abiding. He is the Vine. We are the branches. Remember that on one side of the branch, luscious fruit will come, but only if the other side of the branch is connected to the loving Father. Which do you desire more? The fruit or the One that gives it? You and I will flourish when we abide with Jesus the Master Gardener and trust Him to remove out of love what is unnecessary and foster growth through the nourishment of time spent with Him in prayer and His Word.