"More Fruitful" for Christ

In John 15:2 Jesus said "He cuts off every branch that in me bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

We all know that pruning includes trials, troubles, and tribulations. And the purpose of these trials is to create the character of Christ in us which equals love. Every hardship and trial is God moving us more in the direction of love - loving Him and loving others more.

When Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave God was moving Joseph toward more love for himself and for his brothers. He needed to learn to love his brothers and therefore increase in having the character of God. And he needed to learn to love and have faith in God even when he couldn't understand what God was doing. So God's ultimate purpose in pruning us is that we would have more love for him and for others and therefore be able to produce more fruit.

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