“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. … Anyone who does not live in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.” (John 15:1-2,6)
Pruning hurts, but not nearly as much as being cut off and burned. The difference between you and a branch is that you can choose whether you bear fruit.
We are commanded to love God with all our being, to abide in Christ, to seek the Kingdom first, to make disciples, to love others as ourselves, to personally help “the least of these.” The Scripture is clear: Those who do not obey Jesus are not his disciples; his disciples are the ones who do obey. It’s time for the authentic church to stand up and be the Church. It’s time to bear fruit!
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