“...Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2b, ESV)

Alexander patrolled his fields, looking for dead vines and lethargic branches to prune. The grapes he craved demanded that he tend to his vines. The vine could not sustain production if he allowed too many offshoots to grow. Even living branches had to be cut back so that, with focused energy, they could give birth to healthy fruit.

When Jesus referred to "every branch that does bear fruit," he was alluding to all true believers. Every true believer in Christ is cleansed and pruned by the Father so that they might produce more fruit. With the Spirit of God in them, they are bound to show some marks of sanctification, holiness, or Christlikeness—also known as fruit. So, according to Jesus, there are no true believers who escape the need for pruning.

When Jesus said his Father prunes the fruitful branches, he was referring to the process whereby God cuts off unproductive parts of our lives or cleanses that which is unholy. God is not interested in having us spread so thin that fruit cannot come. God is not interested in the mere toleration of our unholiness either. He wants to cut back and wash up so we might bear even more fruit.

And increased fruit is the goal of which Christ spoke: that it may bear more fruit." God is looking for an increased quality of fruit—character and Christlikeness and impact for Christ—to flow from our lives. He is willing, like a good vinedresser, to tend to our lives, cutting back at times, cleansing at other times, so that we might become even more like his Son.

I know the pruning process is often painful. We live in a complex world that presents us with a myriad of responsibilities and opportunities every day. But we must allow our Father in heaven to cut us back, to prune and cleanse us, bringing us to the bare minimum so that we might bear maximum fruit.