Reflections~

It is the branch that bears the fruit

That feels the knife

To prune it for a larger growth,

A fuller life.

Though every budding twig be lopped,

And every grace

Of swaying tendril, springing leaf

Be lost in space,

O thou whose life of joy seems reft,

Of beauty shorn;

Whose aspirations lie in dust,

All bruised and torn,

Rejoice, tho' each desire, each dream,

Each hope of thine

Shall fall and fade; it is the hand

Of love divine

That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks

With tenderest touch,

That thou, whose life has borne some fruit

May'st now bear much.

Annie Johnson Flint

Jesus says...

"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.... No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.....

"This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples...

John 15:1-17