Pruning

41 After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most.

 42 Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.' " Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

Man, this verse hits home.

To follow the call of God in my life, I've had to leave some friendships behind and that's hard. David did too!

Funny how God works in your life, yesterday I taught on John 15, where Jesus says "I am the vine" and I realized something.

For my life to be more fruitful, God had to prune me from some friendships. Now that sounds really tough doesn't it? But, here's the deal, I pray every morning to be closer to Him, to abide in Him, and to do that God had to prune me to focus on Him. I must confess that I have tried to abide in Him and others at the same time, and that doesn't work.

8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8

For my life to bring glory to God I must bear fruit and to bear fruit I must go through pruning.

Pruning represents cutting off those priorities or preoccupations, while not wrong, that keep us from significant growth to bear fruit. Without pruning we never live up to our potential.

Ok, now let me bring it back to Jonathan and David. Their friendship was so close they might have gotten to the point where they were dependant on each other instead of God. I've been there; I have some close friends whom I've even said "if I know you're by my side we can tackle anything."

I should have said that about God, I needed pruning.

But here's the promise; that friendship doesn't end for us who follow God. We have a hope that we will spend an eternity together, where friends do not part anymore, at the feet of the One we both love!

David and Jonathan knew that absence and distance would not alter anything between them because their hearts were knitted together and their spirits
bound together to the will of God.

12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13

I know what that means; it's been done for me.

Do you?