"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." - John 15:11

Oftentimes people worry about the wrong things. I have a friend who built a new supermarket. It carried all the name brands, plus a complete line of generic foods. It had computerized checkout stands, a pharmacy, a fish market, and an ice-cream parlor.

On grand opening day, my friend's primary concern was the computerized electronic gear that was supposed to help people get checked out in a hurry. So, while clowns entertained the kids with free balloons, he watched over the checkout stands. And out front everything went smoothly. What he didn't know was that back in the warehouse everything was bogged down to the extent that it would soon cripple his business. This man was concerned about the wrong thing!

Christians can be like that, especially about a passage of Scripture such as we have today in John 15:2: "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit..."

Later He talks about those who do not abide in Him being cast out as a branch and thrown into the fire to be burned. Remember, He's talking about fruit-bearing faith, not saving faith. So in this passage, when Jesus talks about taking away a branch, He's not talking about throwing away Christians! For heaven's sake, He's talking about making more Christians! And that's what we should be concerned about.

Are you abiding in Christ? Are you spending enough time in the Word of God to have something to share with others? Are you thinking about the Lord through the day and seeing answers to prayer? Begin to practice the abiding life and God will give you a fruitful life.

Prayer

Lord, thank You for my life in You--a place of joy and purpose. Amen.

To Ponder

Pruning may pain us, but it will never harm us.