“Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.”
‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When I moved into our home, I inherited a few citrus trees. I loved the bright lemons I could see through my bathroom window. But I didn’t know anything about caring for them. The next season, the lemons didn’t return as vigorously. I was told to prune the branches. Of course I did it wrong the first time, but after some research I got it right, and the lemons returned to brighten my view.

Many of Jesus’s illustrations in the Bible use agricultural references because He knew His audience would easily relate to those topics. I, however, do not so easily relate to stories about shepherding sheep or sowing seeds or pruning vines, as in today’s verse, despite my forays into citrus tree maintenance.

But the point is still easy to access. Especially if I translate it to something I know, like photography.

As a photographer selling stock photography, I have thousands and thousands of photos in my collection. It’s been easy to accumulate such an abundance since the advent of digital photography combined with inexpensive data storage.

Having this enormous volume of photos actually creates a problem when it comes to selling the photos though. Stock photo buyers need to be able to find the high quality photos of the subjects they need quickly. None of them want to wade through vast sums of losers to find their winner.

So it’s important for me to prune my portfolio to only the best examples.

If a photo is blurry, out it goes. If the lighting is wrong or the subject is poorly composed or exposed, it is removed. The photos that remain are the ones that will sell, the ones that will bear fruit.

And even those photos will be edited, retouched, and perfected. They will be sharpened. Noise will be minimized, colors enhanced, unwanted bits cropped out until they are the best they can be.

So, what do I need to do to be one of the sharp, well-exposed, sellable photos? How can I avoid ending up blurry and dim in the rejects folder?

Jesus says to “remain in Me”(verse 4). Every branch that remains in Jesus will be saved and lovingly pruned. Every photo that remains in Jesus will be edited, retouched, and included in His portfolio.

What does it mean to remain in Jesus?

Jesus says, “To remain in me, keep my commands” (vs. 10). And then, “This is my command: Love one another as I have loved you” (vs 12‬).

So, simply, if I want to stay sharp and avoid being a useless blurry photo, my top priority must be to love other people.

Dear God,

Thank you for loving me! Please give me the strength to love other people in that same way — without regard to whether they deserve it or appreciate it. Teach me how to stay connected to you like a branch on a vine or a good photo in your portfolio.