Cleansing & Pruning to Live Lighter

by Jeanne Doyon

As I began my spring cleaning, thoughts of less clutter, shiny windows, and freshly laundered curtains spurred me on. I didn’t enjoy the process but I reveled in the results. I felt twenty pounds lighter.

As I studied John 15 and abiding in the vine, I understood pruning better because of my spring cleaning success. The word prune in the original language is from the root, cleanse. It means: to prune useless vines or shoots; cleanse impurity; metaphorically, to purge from guilt. He wants to cut away things that weigh me down: sin, attitudes and selfish desires. This feels harsh and painful, but God sees it as lightening my load so I can produce healthy fruit. Cleaning my heart is like cleaning my house—it’s pruning the excess, removing the things that hinder and weigh me down.

As I walk with Christ, I am in a constant state of growth and change to become more like Jesus. Pruning and cleansing are part of that process. And whereas I may not trust someone to clean out a box of mementos from my basement, I can trust God to remove the dead weight and free my heart and mind to be more like Jesus.

Several years ago, I sat on my kitchen floor sobbing. I had allowed too many things to gain access to my calendar. As I sat in a heap, I knew I couldn’t do the next thing, never mind the ones coming up on my calendar. The result was a drastic pruning as I stepped back from commitments to renew and refresh my soul.

Admittedly, some of the pruning was directed at taking care of my health. But as I leaned into the Lord, I discovered a soul-need God was satisfying as well. He began uncovering and taking away my perfectionism, people-pleasing bent, and my need for affirmation. I discovered a Gentle Shepherd who loves me not for what I do, but for who I am. I found a deeper relationship with my Heavenly Father who desires my heart, not my sacrifices.

I am clean because Jesus washed my sin and removed my guilt before a Holy God. Instead of crimson stains, I am dressed in white—not because of anything I did, but because of what Jesus cleansed on my behalf.

I am pruned because He cut away my excess striving and revealed more of how God prepared His work for me since the beginning of time; and gifted me in ways that will touch a hungry world for Jesus. I no longer have to run ragged to please or appease Him. He says I am a fruitful branch and when I abide in Him, the True Vine, I will produce fruit for His glory.

In the same way spring cleaning comes year after year, God the Gentle Gardener will continue cleansing and pruning me until I reach Heaven. As He draws me near, I will live differently because He is doing the work of producing fruit in me.