I am often reminded of my mother in the spring. She loves to be outdoors gardening and tending to the fruit trees on our family farm. Each March she would take the kids out to the orchard as she pruned the apple trees. Our job was to pick up the fallen branches and move them to the burn pile.
As a child, part of this was concerning. Doesn’t this process hurt the tree? Why would you snip off branches if you want to get more apples? Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose? Surely more branches would equal more apples. It turns out that mother did know best, at least when it comes to apple trees.
Wild trees have strange branch angles that cause limb breaks. This in turn reduces the number of apples and ultimately reduces the life of the tree. If apple trees are left fallow, you may only get a bushel of apples every ten years. And that is bad news if you enjoy apple pie like my family. If you prune apple trees, they yield more apples, provide apples at an earlier age, and live longer. It turns out that pruning allows the tree to develop a strong branch framework that will support fruit production.
I fell into the same trap of wrong thinking after my deployment to Iraq. It was difficult to find the off button and relax. More time with my friends would help my transition home. More time at work would help my military career. More hobbies would help me relax. More somehow looked better than taking time to prune away the unnecessary distractions in my life and in turn be more fruitful.
Many people fall into the same way of thinking. “I need to have more.” “More is better.” “Bigger is better.” Perhaps a little pruning will do the trick. Just make sure that God has the pruning shears.
John 15 reminds us that, Jesus is “the true vine” and His followers are the branches. These branches are already productive, but God occasionally prunes them back so that they can “bear more fruit.” While pruning may seem wrong to our earthly eyes, it is the best thing that could ever happen.
Remember that more branches will not equal more apples. Allow God to shape you into a better fruit producing machine. Continue to abide in Christ and enjoy the season of life that He brings.
God Squad 