Sunday, February 28th began a new message series, entitled “Generation MEdia.” Pastor Kyle Steven Bonenberger invited his congregation to take a harder look at themselves and their relationship with God. As part of this Genertaion MEdia, Pastor Kyle says that we have become focused on ourselves, and have a tendency to believe that we can do everything on our own. In having this self-centered view, we have separated ourselves from God.

Pastor Kyle looked into the passage of John 15:1-6, in which Jesus explained, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in meand I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Aspart of the message, Kyle asked for his audience to research the word“pruning.” A general definition that comes from the online Wikipedia states that pruning is “ the process of removing the above-ground partsof a plant. It includes the removal of diseased, dead, unproductive or other unwanted tissue of a plant. It is useful in increasing the yield or quality of flowers or fruits.”

Kyle spoke a phrase that resounded in me in a big way. He said that we needto “cultivate the process of letting good things go,” not just the bad.Just like a beautiful flowering plant, sometimes we have to cut off even the colorful buds so that better, healthier parts of the flowercan grow and thrive.

AsI thought into my own life, I realized that there are “good” things inmy life that just may need to be pruned away so that God’s full plan and purpose for me can be cultivated. And that’s a hard thought because usually I, like most people, only look at the not so good parts of my life as the only things that need to be changed.

In Kyle’s message, though, I realized more than ever that God wants all of what I am. He is the power-source of my life, and without him, I am notat my full potential. I realized that God wants to trim away both the good and bad in my life so that I can be everything that he intends for me to be.

Even more so, though, I need God, and all of what He is. It is so easy to be focused in on “Generation MEdia,” where I am distracted by all of myself-centered ways. But God must be put first in my life, because without him, I can do nothing.