The Father Prunes in Love
Pruning does sound painful, doesn’t it? And so I think it’s important to remember who’s doing the pruning. Scripture says, “My Father is the vinedresser . . . I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:1, 5).
We have to remember that the vinedresser loves the vine, and the vinedresser loves the branches. His pruning is not just hacking away or lopping off things carelessly, but he’s very careful. He is very precise, and he only removes and takes away that which hinders bearing fruit. That’s what the text says.
And in fact, it says, “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” (John 15:2). So we need to remember who he’s pruning. He’s pruning those who are abiding in Christ.
The word abide actually means “to remain” or “to endure.” And so there’s a sense that as we abide in Christ, we trust the vine dresser enough to remain under his pruning. We trust that he is doing a good work—that he is taking things away from us that are not good for us and that hinder the fruit of sanctification in our own lives and also the things that hinder the fruit of good works in our lives. And so the Father, because he is a loving vine dresser, is going to carefully take those things away. And so our job as the branch is to abide, to remain, to trust. And there is great joy in that.
Courtney Doctor is coauthor with Joanna Kimbrel of Behold and Believe: A Bible Study on the “I Am” Statements of Jesus.
Courtney Doctor (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary) serves as the director of women’s initiatives for the Gospel Coalition. She is a Bible teacher and the author of From Garden to Glory as well as several Bible studies, including Steadfast; Remember Your Joy; and In View of God’s Mercies: The Gift of the Gospel in Romans.
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