He cuts off every branch… that bears no fruit.John 15:2 NIV
Dr. Michael Youssef, who was born in The Middle East, says the branches Jesus talked about cutting off, are “sucker-shoots.” These tiny offshoots literally drain and disable the vine so that it produces leaves – but no fruit!
What are the “sucker-shoots” in your life? What’s keeping you from being fruitful? You can be sure they didn’t spring up overnight. Nobody makes a single leap from the pinnacle of commitment to the swamp of carnality. No, it’s a slow downward spiral based on wrong choices. Unless you stop it, this week’s wrong choice won’t seem quite so bad next week. In fact, a month from now it might not seem like a bad choice at all.
A famous sculptor was asked how he carved a lion’s head out of a big chunk of marble. “I just chipped away everything that didn’t look like a lion’s head,” he replied. That’s how God works; He chips away at everything in us that doesn’t look like Christ: (a) our insensitivity to the needs of others; (b) our drive for success at the expense of our family, or our spiritual well being; (c) our laziness and lack of personal discipline; (d) _________ You fill in the blank.
“Sucker-shoots” drain and disable us; that’s why God’s determined to remove them. Paul says, “We… are being transformed” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV). God’s committed to it, and nothing we can do will dissuade Him! He stays at it; He’s relentless. And He never runs out of creative ideas for bringing it about. Aren’t you glad?
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