What does it mean to be "pruned?" It doesn't sound very pleasant.   "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." John 15:2   Pruning is the act of removing leaves and branch tips and even budding flowers in order to make room for more. The way a vinedresser prunes, what they remove and what they leave, can direct the way the branches grow and how many blooms there are. Vine-dressing is a skill that is learned. It takes time and care.   Jesus states that God prunes us. We're branches. The life of Jesus flowing through us produces fruit. When that fruit is ready, the vinedresser will cut it off. If he leaves it, it will just rot and nothing else will grow there either.   Bearing fruit is the first step in pruning. We want to bear fruit, but we don't like the idea of being pruned. Jesus is giving us a fact of life. Pruning is necessary for us to reach our destiny. The reward outweighs the cost.   We know this principle. We need a community of friends to help us remember this principle and live in it. That's why we created Follower of One, an online community for marketplace Christians. We want our faith to produce fruit every day. Why not join us at https://community.followerofone.org and watch God bear fruit through you, too?