Pruning: "Though He Slay Me, Yet I Will Trust Him"

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit... Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned."  -John 15:1-2,4-6

One thing that makes it difficult for nonbelievers to acknowledge their need for a Savior is found within this passage of John: dependence. We are nothing apart from Christ—believers and nonbelievers alike! We cannot bring forth the fruits of righteousness that God desires if we are not rooted and grounded in the Son. Salvation is all about our dependence upon God. There is nothing we can do that will earn us the right to enter into His presence. Our efforts to please God are feeble at best. We are completely dependent on His outstretched love and mercy, and unless we humbly recognize our desperate need, we will be sentenced to an eternity of separation from God. 

However, since I have already accepted the blood of Christ as the atonement for my sin, does Jesus’ lesson have anything to do with me? Absolutely! The Father is the vinedresser who cuts away the dead branches (nonbelievers)—but He is also the vinedresser who prunes the good branches in order to prepare the way for more abundant fruit! Does a plant protest against the pruning of its gardener? No, of course not. Neither should I grouse and grumble when I undergo the pain that pruning brings. 

What happens to the pieces that are pruned from me? They die, because they are no longer connected to the life-giving vine. Am I willing to give myself completely into the hands of God so that He can take and slay the pieces of me—my desires, my hopes, my plans, my purposes—that are hindering my growth in Him? May my answer be a quiet, trusting “Yes, Lord—not my will, but Thine”!