John 15:2  “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.” 

Since the Arctic blast in February, most all of us have surveyed and evaluated the freeze damage to our trees and shrubs. We have carefully examined to see if there is still life in the branches to determine if they will recover. A few days ago, I took my shears and cut out the dead branches in my Indian Hawthorns and pruned the branches still showing life and fruitful growth back to the base roots. I had to remove dead leaves and branches that no longer had life. The live branches are now showing new life and growth and will become fruitful with beautiful pink flowers in time. It will take time for recovery but the removal of dead branches and leaves had to be done for new growth to occur. We had some shrubs that were dead. We simply had to pull them up and throw them away and start over.

How does this apply to our lives? There are times that we must examine our own lives to see if we have some dead or damaged areas (branches) that we need to cut out and throw away or prune back to the source of life. As we live each day, we need to look at what needs to be pruned back as a means of spiritual maintenance. There are times that it takes an Arctic blast for us to see the damage and take pruning action. God expects us to bear fruit and we can only do so if our lives are alive in Christ. Just like I pruned my plants, God prunes us so that we can become more fruitful and fulfill His purpose in our lives. Until we leave this earth, we must do what is necessary to keep new growth and fruit abounding from our lives. Quote: “Everything alive is still growing.” John 15 tells us that no branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. He is the vine and we are the branches. Do you need to get out your pruning shears and go to work cutting out some dead branches?