Do you think that gardening takes time? Or patience? How about waiting?
It sure does. So does our life when God is pruning us. Stop and think about when the seed is first planted when you get to pick the fruit of that plant? You wait months for the plant to produce fruit. This is how it can be in our very own lives. It can take a while for the spiritual fruit to blossom for others to see.
There are two things mentioned in John 15:3. Pruning and purification. In pruning by God, He cuts off the list of offenses that separate us from Him and nailing it to Jesus’s cross. He pruned away the identity of the sinner and replaced it with the saint. We were once unholy are now made holy. In the purification process, God washes away the taint and disgrace. This is an already done process and still an ongoing process. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 that we are cleansed from the sinful behaviors when we call on Jesus. This is an ongoing process. This process is about being attached to our vine daily. Until the day we day or Jesus returns for us, we will keep going through the pruning and purification process. God is “airo” -ing us in our daily walk with Him.
When we cry out to Jesus, put our faith in Him, He purifies us and makes us right in the sight of God the gardener. Isn’t Jesus just wonderful!!!? With Jesus as our source of holiness, we can settle into a life of producing healthy fruit that is attached to the branch. We will be abundant, even in the waiting!
What does John 3:16-17 say? What good things are there in these two verses? For one, God loves us so much He sent His son to us. If we believe in Him, we will have eternal life. We won’t perish.
So is being pruned and purified such a bad thing, or is it a good thing? Does it mean that it will be easy or hard? Or maybe a little of both??
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for loving us so well. Thank you for giving us a new identity in you. One that is not negative but uplifting and positive. I pray that we will choose to be patient in you as you prune and purify us in you.
In Jesus Name
Amen
