Pruned

This small sprig fell from a potted plant in the lobby of my building.  Our custodian asked if we wanted to attempt to salvage the plant fragment.  I cut a sliver of the base and placed it in a cup of water on my window ledge.  Two weeks later, I’m beginning to see a re-emergence of root.  Once the root is established, I will repot the plant in rich soil infused with nutrients.  Exposed to the sun, I expect the plant to grow and later produce seedlings.  The original plant will be replicated by first pruning itself.  It discarded one branch so that it might gain more.

John 15:1-2

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² 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.

Have you ever been plucked and stripped?  At times, it can feel as though God has ripped us from His presence.  Thinning out overgrowth requires cutting.  Pain comes with the process.  Consider this, if the Vinedresser chose us to prune, it is a good thing because it signifies we have been fruitful.   After pruning, God picks us up and dips us in His grace, placing us nearest His Son.  Before long, growth is evident to the world.  One pruned branch gives rise to bountiful fruit.  God takes away so that His fruit might increase.