Good morning people who live as a reflection of Jesus Christ.

John 15:1-2 NIV “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

The Father loves the Son and He likes the Son. He loves who He is. He loves what He does. He loves everything about His Son.

And anything connected to His Son should look like His Son. This is the Father’s intention and it is His pursuit.

This is not about natural striving and human perfection. This is not about good works as a means to being accepted. No, we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and we have been saved by grace through faith. Hallelujah!

But there are still spiritual laws at work, including sowing and reaping.

An apple tree will produce apples. An orange tree will produce oranges. A lemon tree will produce lemons.

If a branch connected to one of these trees is unfruitful, it will eventually be removed. If it is fruitful, like a rose bush, there are times when it is pruned back for the very reason of producing more fruit.

People connected to Jesus will be fruitful because He is… Well, He is Jesus! Life has to flow from Him and produce fruit to all that is connected to Him. Again, this is what the Father desires and it is how the spiritual realm works.

Therefore, like natural trees, the Father will remove what needs to be removed if a branch is not a healthy representation of the vine that it is connected to. The Father will also prune (clean) a healthy branch so that it can look even more like Jesus.

The Father wants sons and daughters who look like His eternal Son. This is how much the Father loves His Son.