A master gardener was talking about pruning. Pruning is the process of cutting off branches or stems from a plant. But someone asked, “Why? Don’t you want your plant to keep getting bigger?” The gardener replied, “Of course! But sometimes in order to get bigger, we need to get smaller.” Doesn’t that just sound like a biblical lesson?

The truth is, sometimes we grow in ways not good for us. We develop bad habits, or we become too focused on things of this earth, or we let ourselves get distracted. On the surface, it looks like we’re doing great; we’re growing big. But inside, we’re wasting our energy and sooner or later, we’re not going to be able to get any bigger. Instead, we’re going to get too weighed down, and stop growing.

This is why God prunes us, for He is the Master Gardener. He says, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” He then says that He prunes us in order that we can produce more fruit. This pruning is hard and often painful. But it is necessary in order to be the strongest plants we can be. We need to look out for each other and hold each other accountable, and help us grow to be productive people. Then, as we become stronger, God will use us to bring more people to the garden of Christ.This is Luis Palau.