This morning as I was watering the houseplants I noticed one that seemed to need a little more attention. I took it to the sink and wiped down the planter, adding water to the soil.I lifted a couple small branches and absent-mindedly removed a few dead pieces here and there that I hadn't noticed were there until I started moving the plant around, making sure it was getting enough water.
As I put the plant back in its spot I realized it looked altogether different. It didn't look bad before, in fact, it looked great. But once the earlier unnoticed dead branches were gone, it looked greener, fresher... healthier. The pruning made such a difference! I didn't pull and cut the dead sections of the plant off as a way to destroy the plant. Rather it was to clean it up and refresh it, allowing it to bloom fuller, growing into a healthier, hardier plant.
God does this very thing for us. As we draw closer to him, allowing Him to inspect us and nurture us through His word, He prunes away our ugly dead branches that hold us back from growing into a spiritually healthy and hardy Christian that will produce more good for His glory.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
(John 15:1-8)
What dead branches do we have that need cut off? Our lives, the things we do, and how we handle things may look wonderful to those outside looking in... but if we shuffle things around a little bit, to reveal the deepest darkest undergrowth, what dead branches are lingering that can be pruned?
Cutting things off and out of our lives hurts. So who would want to go through the pain of cutting things out and making changes? Perhaps that's the true source of the saying "no pain, no gain". When we let go of our will and stubbornness and allow the Lord to move our branches around a bit, revealing the dead branches we've allowed to remain intact, we become a healthier reflection of Christ. We grow into a stronger fruit bearing disciple that is bringing God more glory through our lives.
Whether it be an attitude adjustment, a quirk, a habit, or a lack of motivation... whatever it may be, if it's not bearing fruit for God's kingdom, let Him have it, you'll be healthier and more vibrant without it!
