The fruitful branches

Ordinarily, people who are at the peak of their success in the world—their career is booming, they have money, power, love, friends, adorers—would find it difficult to put the Lord in Number One spot in their lives. It’s but human to get intoxicated by worldly success. Some brilliant people would even think they’re on top of the world due to their own efforts, thus they don’t think about thanking God who is the Source of all we have and all we are. Would they then be “branches that remain on the vine”? But sometimes, even those who profusely and publicly acknowledge God in their success may only give the impression that they are branches clinging to the vine when in reality they are dying branches.

If we are indeed branches that the Lord would want to remain on the vine, we must realize that there is a price to pay—the pain of being pruned. If you’ve ever done a bit of gardening you’d know that for a branch to be more productive, it has to be periodically pruned. Pruning hurts; it cuts the flesh. Our pruning means we are asked to give up certain desires.

Love is what keeps us wanting to remain on the vine, and love is an act of the will. Without the will to remain in Jesus, we cannot stand the pruning that life deals us with. But the will to love makes pruning sweet: it’s okay if the Lord takes away anything in us that makes union with Him impossible—and so we bear fruits: patience, kindness, joy, self-control, etc. We are successful in that we are faithful; all other worldly successes we attain become useful to humanity, because they are fruits that come from the Lord, passing through the branches.