LEAD. June 2020 | Page 7

John 15 paints the picture of a vinedresser painstakingly devoted to our progress: Bear fruit (verse 2). Bear more fruit (verse 2). Bear much fruit (verse 8). No one loses. As Christ puts it, here are the benefits of pruning: My Father is glorified (verse 8). You prove to be my disciples (verse 8). My joy may be in you, and your joy may be full (verse 11). It may take a while for joy to come in the midst of pruning, but it is inevitable. For some of us, the pruning begins early in life; others may remain relatively intact until the later decades of life. By no means is all loss pruning, but pruning can certainly look like loss. It can also look like relational fracture or like failure, weakness, or sickness, because it involves paring back in some capacity. God can use it all. If we allow the shears to do their work, the purpose is always the same: growth. God doesn’t prune everyone by the same hard, fast rule, but every fruitful branch, without exception, will experience cutbacks. Here’s how the pattern frequently goes. The young life awakened in Christ is fresh faced and full of promise. The young man knows exactly where he’s headed. The young woman knows precisely what she’s called to be. They each set out on their path and, just about the time they really start to bloom, the clipping ensues. Life gets hard. Affirmation decreases. Passion wanes. Inspiration dries up. Material doesn’t materialize. Clarity turns to cloudiness. Phase 1 is normally annoyance with God. You led me here, then left me here. You told me to go, then didn’t come through. Don’t be surprised if you experience an ironic sense of lostness just when you thought you’d found what you were looking for. This can be its own form of pruning. It reminds us that what we really want is God. Neither arrival nor achievement can keep us satisfied. Only abiding can. God never calls us to something only to abandon us once we’ve arrived. He’s at work whether or not we see a whit of evidence. Phase 2 is self-doubt. God didn’t mislead me; I misled myself. I made it up and called it God. With this phase usually comes embarrassment, since after all, you told people you’d been called. The truth is, you were indeed called, and your calling is irrevocable. This setback is for the sake of your calling, not in spite of it. Difficulty is paramount to producing. Without it, you won’t be able to faithfully steward your gifting. Phase 3 is the valley of decision. This is a critical season, because here you will either withdraw to a less vulnerable proximity or cling closer to Jesus despite the appearance of promises aborted. Will you hang around for the training? This becomes the million-dollar question. At times God is too close for us to see. We lose sight of how He’s working until months or years later, when we’re able to step back and gain a 7