Out with the old, in with the new

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”John 15:1-5 ESV

Have you ever had someone ask you for what you didn’t want to give them? Your time when you’d rather be alone? A ride home when you’d rather not be inconvenienced? The last bite of dessert when you never wanted to share….(you may or may not have birthed this person or their children, just sayin’) It doesn’t feel good to lay down things that we’d rather hold on to, regardless of whether we think they are good or bad for us. But the question of giving one, or all of these things up hits a little different when there is a greater depth to the relationship. You’ll give your coat up for someone you love, because you want to take care of them. However, you’d NEVER give a stranger the last bite of your salted caramel ice cream because there’s less relationship there, and well, that’s just weird. Our choice to sacrifice one way or the other often comes from loving our comfort/preferences or the person more.

It’s a quandary for sure. But it’s a quandary God is willing to put us in the middle of because he loves us. More than our comfort, he’s willing to prune us because he loves us.

There are times and seasons where God asks things of us that we want to give him. Those things might be ugly, they harm us, or they might be things we know we should never have held such a vice grip on in the first place. Sometimes, we find ourselves white-knuckling what we should have been laying down all along. And then there are times that God asks us to give him something that we want, something we have loved or something we have waited patiently or impatiently for and either way…we find we’ve held it too close. He asks for what we love and this time it’s far more difficult to pry it out of our desperate fingers. That my friends, is the blessing and sacrifice of God pruning our lives.

Either way, he is the vine dresser and we are the vine. We have no life, apart from him and we are dependent on him for everything that gives us life. 

Pruning is never easy but pruning is a necessity for growth to occur. Whatever we’ve held onto, and whatever God is removing from us, no longer serves us. Yielding to his expert hands results in honoring his lordship in our lives. Our love for him shows him we’re willing to submit and surrender even if it comes at personal cost. So, what does pruning look like? Sometimes it means something needs to be removed from our lives. Sometimes it means we have to lay something down we love. And sometimes it means what is pruned is a sincere sacrifice to us, and a pleasing offering to the one we love. Even if it hurts, even if it’s hard, even if it’s painful in ways we never wanted or expected- pruning is essential for growth in the kingdom. And that my friend, is the gift of pruning. Jesus isn’t going to ask us to lay something down that is inferior to what he has to offer us. The stripping away of the old, makes way for the new of whatever it is He wants to do in our lives. Some things will need to be cut away and life, new life, has the freedom to thrive and grow.

May whatever this year holds find us all willing to lay down whatever Jesus asks of us, because we love and trust Him to make all things new.

So much love,

Joy