The Key to a Fruitful Life

In John 15, Jesus uses a metaphor to help His disciples understand the importance of abiding in Him. In the metaphor God the Father is the Vinedresser. Of course, unlike a grape plant, believers can either resist His work in our lives or yield to Him … one results in discipline and the other in pruning.
 Bruce Wilkinson in his book, Secrets of the Vine, helps us distinguish between the two actions of God through the use of the following chart:

That Jesus speaks of God the Father as the Vinedresser tells us that God cares and loves us. He may need to discipline us when sin is in our lives, and because He desires we bear much fruit pruning will also be necessary. It’s important to distinguish between God’s discipline and pruning so we know how we are to respond.