PURGING IS PAINFUL

Sis. Mercy John, Bahrain

Purging or pruning is an act mostly done for plants. But we can see this act in the life of Christians. Every Christian needs to be purged. John 15:2 we read that every branch that bears not fruit, He takes away: and every branch that bears fruit He purges it that it may bring forth more fruits. Jesus says “I am the vine and my Father is the husbandman.” Also in verse 5 the Lord says, I am the vine and you are the branches. He that abides in me and I in him, the same brings much fruits. Every believer is a branch of the vine which is our Lord Jesus Christ. It is expected from the branch to produce fruits. Likewise, every believer has to produce fruits by living in Jesus Christ. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself, except it abides in the vine. A believer must abide in Christ to produce fruit. But there are many instances in a believer’s life when no fruits are produced.

A gardener plants the tree and takes care of it and waits for its fruits. James 5:7 says, the husbandman waits patiently for the precious fruits from the trees he has planted. Our Lord is also very patient towards us. He lets us stay for long time waiting to see whether we are producing fruits. What are the fruits that are expected from a child of God? Galatians 5:22 says, The fruit of the spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Long suffering, Gentleness, Goodness and Temperance. Are we fruitful in our Christian life? Let us ponder on this question. If no fruits are produced, then that branch will be taken away. John 15:2 tells us that a branch that does not produce fruit may be a hindrance to the other branches that produce fruit, so the gardener removes those branches. We can see this feature among the Christians also. A person that is not fruitful in the church might cause hurdles for the growth of another Christian. The Lord Jesus says that Father God will remove such branches.

Many Christians are happy that they are producing fruits, but our Heavenly Father says that every branch that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. John 15:2 says that purging is a very painful act. Still it is very important because if the branches are not purged it will grow high and become weak. It can fall or break easily due to rain or wind. If the branches have to be strong and fruitful, then it needs to be purged. The branch has no right to ask the gardener, why are you hurting me? That is because the gardener has a purpose for that branch that it should produce fruit. He has all the power to do anything with the branch to meet his purpose. Likewise our Heavenly Father is keeping his children in this world for certain purpose. We might be producing few fruits and feel very proud of our works. Remember that there is a great chance of falling. So God purges us before we fall so that we might produce more fruits. .God’s chastisement is a form of purging. Hebrews .12:5, 6 says “For whom Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son that He receives.” He deals with us like sons. We read in verse 8 that if we are without chastisement, we are not sons but bastards. A father punishes his son for his betterment. It is not joyful but painful at that time but afterwards yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness. When we study the life of Job we can understand this. God himself says that Job is perfect, upright, one that feared god and eschewed evil. Job 1:8.What happened to him later? He suffered all the pain and grieves of this world to the maximum. Even his wife told him to curse God and die. In all these Job never attempted to reject God. In Job .42:5.Job acknowledges that he has seen the glory of God through his sufferings.

As Christian women, we have to face this purging experience in our life. Are we ready to commit ourselves to God’s hands for purging that we may produce more fruit, or are we grumbling at God? May God help us to be fruitful Christian women in our home, church and among the nonbelievers?