Difficult truths

Rev. Lem Whitmer First Christian Church

On my way to Maryville on April 27, I went through several road work areas. Some of them required me to slow down quite a bit. Experiencing these made me feel somewhat frustrated because I was running late getting to work. While going through this, part of my mind was working on this Sunday’s sermon — entitled “Difficult Truths.”

It occurred to me that my frustrating experience might be a type of preparation for Sunday’s sermon. It was definitely a difficult truth that I was being delayed on my way to work. It was a difficult truth that at this time of year potholes must be filled. It was also a difficult truth that I was very frustrated.

In this morning’s text, Jesus speaks of a difficult truth. He says, “He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes (a) to make it bear more fruit.“ (John 15:2)

Jesus is using the vine and the branches as an analogy. In a vineyard, the caretaker (a vinedresser) must constantly maintain the vines so that they can produce grapes efficiently. To do this the vinedresser is always cutting away the branches which have stopped producing. This is so those branches are not leaching away nutrients the vine can use to produce the fruit. The vinedresser also prunes back the extra leaves on the branches which do produce fruit so that they can be more efficient.

In the first verse, Jesus says he is the vine, and we are the branches. When he is referring to “fruit” he means “results.” He means that if our faith is not producing results, we will be cut off. He also means that even when our faith IS producing results, he prunes us. He is constantly pushing us to improve.

It is a difficult truth. If we are one of the branches which is not producing results, we get cut off.

This seems rather harsh. I mean, it seems kind of final, doesn’t it?

I am reminded of a saying I came across once. “Nature never forgives. People will forgive sometimes. God always forgives.” Well, I would modify this saying slightly. “God forgives those who repent.”

The question is, as a Christian, are you producing results which will gain God’s favor? I suspect the answer to the question means facing a “difficult truth.”