Christian Living

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John 15:1-2 states “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. Pruning forms an integral part of righteousness in Christianity. Many Christians yearn for a life of complete holiness but do not desire the pruning and conditions which come with a life of righteousness; having become embroiled in a kind of perceived self-righteousness which originates from the flesh and not from God.

Is 64:6 states “but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away”. There is nothing more dangerous than a person trying to lead a personally derived righteousness with his or her own strength and in the flesh. This is what Paul writes about to Timothy in 2Tim 3:5 which states: “having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away”. In order for us as Christians to meet God’s standards, we should not set our own standards and follow them but we should see God’s standard which is the golden standard and follow it always, no matter what.

One may ask: how can we determine the standard of righteousness which God wants us to lead? The Holy Spirit is there to guide is to know what is right, wrong, acceptable and unacceptable and to help us prune off every excess baggage which weighs us down in righteousness. We should remember that there cannot be righteousness without any sacrifice or total surrender. When a tree is pruned it initially looks bruised and shapeless, but as it is watered it grows into the intended shape and becomes very beautiful. As the Holy Spirit points out things which we need to prune in our lives we should aggressively take them up and work on getting them out of our lives with fasting, prayer and God’s Word. Mat. 26:41 states: “watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak”. Ps119:11 states” thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee”.

Even as we do all these the Holy Spirit will point out areas in our lives which we need to cut off. We should be obedient and willing to sacrifice these things in order to make it into God’s standard. Mat. 5:30 states: “And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell”. We should avoid and completely cut off every scenario or circumstance which causes us to sin and we shall reap unending blessings from God both in this world and in Heaven. Amen

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