Releasing (Pastor Vann Trapp)

There is another word we have in the English language that sounds exactly like “pairing” but has almost the complete opposite meaning – “paring.” Pairing adds something. Paring takes something away. And in our relationship with God, He does both. John says that our heavenly Father is a gardener who wants to make sure that we are rightly paired with Jesus (who is like a vine to our branch), but also rightly pared of all our distractions and deceptions that keep us from the purposeful, fruitful life He created us for. But while pairing is an exciting process, paring can be a challenging time in our lives. So, is God clipping away at some area of your life right now? What is the purpose? Why can’t He just leave well enough alone and stick to pairing?