I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. -John 15, 1-4

I wrote recently that God is omnipresent, our past, present, and future all visible to Him. He sees the whole package. Therefore, if you’ve accepted the tenants presented by Christ in word and action it only makes sense that the saving grace received covers it all.

Branches are not, however, created equal, nor will we as humans make the same decisions when presented with similar challenges. In hard times, we’ll respond depending on how we’ve been conditioned.

This makes what we allow ourselves to absorb and/or experience critical. When we are tested, what we’ve filled ourselves with will manifest. If you’ve been intentional in your growth, you’ve filled your heart with scripture, you recognize The Lord’s voice because you’ve grown close in prayer, you’re fellowshipping with like-minded believers to encourage you through the trial, and you’re praising Him for His goodness. You’re seeing HIM and trusting His promises despite the challenge. Even so, even the most mature believer will still experience pruning. It’s how we grow continuously into deeper relationship with Him.

Of course the opposite follows. If you’ve allowed yourself to become distant, habitually gotten away from your Word or church community, forget to be grateful for what you DO have, or begin to feel rage or entitlement, when your storm comes…buckle up. The storms are all hard, but they’re exponentially more difficult if you’ve not disciplined your heart and mind. The refining will be…unpleasant. Even so, He loves you, us, too much to leave us struggling and unable to sense His love and presence.

Don’t get me wrong. As stated previously, God’s omnipresence causes His grace to cover our past, present, and future. His grace is sufficient, and one day we’ll be face to face with our Lord.

He may trim us down to a nub….but we’re still connected to the vine. Even so, I’d like to enter thriving and bearing much fruit. When I see Him, I want to lay down as many crowns as possible at His feet. He is SO worthy, and all of the goodness we experience was His to begin with.

He is the vine. We are His branches, and nothing can disconnect us. WE simply get to decide how we’ll enter…lLet’s aim for much fruit and fewer nubs. 😉