Pruning The Acer

John 15:2

Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

I hate gardening. When I moved into my house, I inherited a beautiful garden with trees, plants and a perfectly mown lawn. Five years later, my neglect had left me with a wild jungle, complete with broken tables and assorted junk. It was time to call Noah. Some of you will be familiar with Noah - he plays drums at Gas Street and he’s a bit of a legend. What you may not know, is that Noah is also a gardener. A few months of hard work and Noah transformed my jungle into a landscaped masterpiece, complete with fake grass that doesn’t require mowing. Just as Noah was finishing up, I asked him to do one final job: trim a rather beautiful 15ft acer tree that grows in our front garden. There was a slight misunderstanding and, instead of trimming the top, Noah cut it down to the root! Rather extreme pruning I thought! But Noah knew what he was doing, and it’s already started to grow back bigger and stronger.

Pruning is a painful process. Maybe you’ve felt a bit like that tree recently. One minute you’re standing tall and the next you’ve been cut down to a stump. The key is not to panic. It’s easy to mistake pruning for punishment because it hurts. But Jesus says that he prunes the branches that are bearing fruit. It’s a reward not a punishment, even if it doesn’t feel like it. Plus, there’s more, Jesus says that the reason he prunes is so that we will be even more fruitful. Like the athlete that runs the extra lap in training, there’s purpose in the pain. Hang in there!

Prayer: Thank you Father that you discipline and correct us. Please transform us into the image of Jesus.