Pruning Muscadines

Bible Reading: John 15:1-5; Galatians 5:22-23

It was a sunny, warmer-than-normal February afternoon. “It’s a perfect day to prune the muscadines!” Dad announced.

Cole and Ella threw on their warm clothes and met Mom and Dad outside. Dad hooked the trailer up to the tractor while Mom got the pruning tools. Then she and the kids climbed into the trailer while Dad took the wheel.

As they rode down to the vineyard, Cole asked, “Why do we prune the muscadines every year?”

“Yeah,” Ella agreed. “We’re cutting back the vines. Won’t that mean fewer grapes?”

“Actually, the old shoots just take food away from the main vine,” Mom explained. “They cause the vines to produce less fruit.”

“So we prune them so they’ll produce more muscadines,” said Cole.

Dad pulled the tractor up to the first row. He and Mom began snipping away at the old vines while Ella and Cole collected the cuttings to make wreathes later.

After a successful day of work, everyone gathered in the living room for devotions. Ella paused her wreath-making as Cole handed Dad the Bible.

Dad flipped to a page and read John 15:2. “He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.”

“That’s what we did today!” said Ella. “We pruned the muscadines so they’ll bear more fruit.”

Mom nodded. “But the Lord has to prune us sometimes too.”

“What do you mean?” Cole asked.

“Well, sometimes there are things in our lives that the Lord has to cut away, such as sinful patterns or unhealthy attitudes. This process can be painful, but if we allow the Lord to prune us, we can be certain that it will help us grow in our relationship with Jesus, our Vine. We can’t grow spiritual fruit by ourselves, which is why we need the Holy Spirit to prune us. Then our lives will overflow with spiritual fruit as we shine the love of Jesus to others.”

“I want to be like a well-pruned muscadine vine,” said Cole.

“Me too!” Ella exclaimed.

–Lisa Fuller

How About You?
Have you ever seen a plant being pruned? Maybe you’ve seen your parents trim bushes or workers cut dead branches off trees. This is what the Holy Spirit does to us. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, God gives us the Holy Spirit to transform our lives and give us the ability to produce spiritual fruit. As He prunes us by helping us turn away from sin, we produce fruit such as love, peace, kindness, gentleness, and other character traits that demonstrate God’s love to others.

Today’s Key Verse:
He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. (NLT) (John 15:2)

Today’s Key Thought:
Let God prune you