03 Pruning Us For Our Good

“Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2
 

Today my friend called me. It’s his 59th birthday. It’s the 3rd or 4th time he called. Since it’s his birthday I decided to answer, and instead of getting upset about his incessant calling. I answered and joyously wished him a happy birthday. This friend is mostly homebound and reads a lot. He wanted to read from the book I got him for his birthday. I’ve been working to be more Christlike so I cheerfully said “please do, let’s see what God has to say for us today”. He proceeded to read me a nice message about the painful process of pruning in our lives and how God often takes away things from our lives that keep us from producing the fruit He created us for. The message included the hope of something better taking the place of what had been pruned.

Strangely, as I write, the song Nothing Beyond Broken by Chris August is playing and the lyrics talk about how God restores broken things to something better than they were before.

Right now I’m in a broken marriage. It feels beyond repair. My wife fell out of love with me and moved out. She took our 2 dogs and cat. From what I understand, the divorce will result in her taking a large sum of my wealth. As I’ve pondered this, I’ve come to see that even though I earned the bulk of money in our relationship, it was only by her care for me that I  became the man I am now and during our marriage I wasn’t alone in building the estate that is now at risk. Where I think my security is in monetary wealth, God gives us assurance that our true worth is in his Son, Jesus Christ. That in the end, the only thing that remains is love. Instead of seeking our worldly wealth, we must focus on following Jesus into the trials of life and manifesting His love to a broken world, only then can we be content and filled with joy while resting in His peace.

Jesus, as my life is pruned of beautiful branches, remind me that something new will grow in their place. Your life flows through me and will heal the wounds while also forming a protective callous over the pursuits in my life that were fruitless so that my whole life is able to better glorify you. Amen

Romans 8:38 I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.