The Vine, the Gardener, the Branches- Topiary Effect

I'm in a mini series based off the passage found in John 15. One thing that I love are topiary. A topiary is a tree that can be cut into different shapes. It takes a lot of time and precision to cut the branches into the shape you want. With time and precision, one can create great sculptures.

God does the same thing with us. John 15:2 says, "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." Just like the gardener did with the topiary above, God shapes his vine to be like he wants. If you are an unbeliever, to God you are a dead branch, which bears no fruit, in his beautiful vine that God cuts off. If you are a believer, then he takes the time to prunes you. When he prunes you, he cuts all the unnecessary little twig off. When he does this we are shaped so that we are able to bear more fruit. Up close it is a very long a tedious process, and sometimes, the process of pruning is to painful, because we have a lot of  unnecessary twigs that need to be cut off. But from far away, we are a beautiful topiary, one that is taken care properly, and it looks like an amazing piece of work.