We may not always like it – but sometimes we need a little pruning

Somewhere in the deepest recesses of the human mind, God planted the knowledge of his existence.
It is not that people do not know this, it is that some choose not to believe or accept it.  One of the very special things that God gave us was the unexplainable ability to ʻloveʼ.  Perhaps you are asking what that has to do with todayʼs text.  Jesus told his disciples that he is the true vine, that God is the one who prunes the vine, and that people are the branches.  It is a great analogy for many of us who are
gardeners.  Jesus used the grapevine, he could have used the apple tree or fig or several other plants, to explain who he is and how the relationship exists between the Father, we humans and Jesus.  Jesus is telling us that as the main trunk of the vine, he is the lifeblood to the rest of the plant, the branches, leaves, fruit.  In this world, some limbs think that they donʼt need the stem of the plant, that they can go it alone.  Break off the limb, throw it on a pile and it will die, but graft it back on and it will live.  Let the sucker of the plant grow and it will produce something not wanted.  Allow the new shoots
to go wild and fruit production is generally poor as the plant puts effort into growth.  We can see many things that come from a vine, but we know that without the vine we struggle.  So, as part of the vine, we need to be pruned, to bear fruit.  So what is the fruit that this vine produces?  Even I can work that out – “Love”.  I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener.  John 15:1

Pastor Darryl