Fruit

We are extensions of God and pruning is necessary in order for us to be productive. From the beginning of time, He intended for us to be fruit bearers. The first thing that He told Adam to do was to be fruitful and multiply. Here fruit is speaking of God's character or what we call The Fruits of the Spirit. God's desire is that we develop and produce love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith, temperance, and self-control. A good gardener cuts away anything that is unnecessary or may be hindering their plant from blossoming. In our case, God is the gardener and by the work of the Holy Spirit, He prunes the fear, anger, pride, and other things that may be hindering His character from being developed within us. Pruning does not feel good because we have become so comfortable living with those things that it's hard to imagine life without them. The wonderful thing about pruning is that afterwards something good grows from it. Not only does God want us to bear fruit, but He wants us to bear a lot of it. He wants us to have and show a lot of love, overflow with joy, and have peace that surpasses understanding. Others will then know what God is like by encountering us. Our job in all of this is to humble ourselves and submit to the lifelong process.

Take a moment to think about something that you need to let go of today in order for God to shine brighter through you. I encourage you to submit it to Him and watch your life flourish as a result.

John 15:1-2 (NLT)

I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.