Let me Abide in You

Scripture/Bible: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:1-8

Reflection:  “Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away.”

I have often wondered at the fall of the mighty and their straying away from the truth of Christ even after encountering and experiencing the power of his grace in their lives.  

  

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”  Eph 5:6

The answer can only be in the production of fruit as mentioned by Jesus. But the production of fruit that Christ is referring to is not totally in ones hands that one should focus on it.

We can talk about the fruit of the Spirit such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,  (Gal 5:22-23) yet it is that which belongs to the Holy Spirit and is manifested when we abide in Christ and allow his Holy Spirit to fully manifest himself through us.

They are the fruit of the Spirit not our fruit if precisely put. 

What are the fruit that a Christian should bear; except that a Christian is called to abide in Christ? It is in abiding in Christ that we shall produce fruit and if we allow ourselves to be pruned then we shall bear much fruit. 

Hence the greatest quality that is required of a Christian is Dedication and commitment to Christ Jesus who has begun a good work in us and will bring it to completion that day.  (Cfr. Phil 1:6)

It is through Dedication and commitment we abide in the Vine and draw from the eternal source the sap of everlasting life and will produce much fruit. 

Prayer:  Lord, teach me to always abide in you and draw from your wisdom to lead a life of dedication and commitment.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

True Vine

Scripture/Bible: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:1-8

Reflection: Oh yes, there could be many vines in the vast fields of God’s creation.  Some good and some bad, some true and some false, some for a particular use and some only produce the wild variety. 

Some vines are cared for and some are not because they could be wild.

Not all those who care for the vine are good at bringing out the best nor are all vines cared for by the best.  

Jesus meets some very important criteria for making a choice for him, so that we may bear really good and also abundant fruits.  

One needs to have a true and good vine, a good caretaker, who knows when and how to prune and finally one has one’s own set goal which the caretaker will help achieve; abundant fruit.

Jesus is the true vine whose sap, the Holy Spirit and his word, flowing through us helps produce life and fruit. He is not alone in his task, there is a caretaker who is no ordinary person, his own Father, who prunes us out of love and concern that we may bear much fruit.

Remember that the Father prunes a branch that is abiding in the Vine and hence it is not just the branch that feels the pain of pruning, but more so the vine itself, which is Christ. Hence we are never alone in our walk in Christ, in all our ups and downs, our various struggles. He is totally united with us in everything.

The human being finds their fulfillment in doing things; in producing fruits. The more good fruit one produces the more satisfied and fulfilled one finds oneself.  In the process one may take the help of various resources at one’s disposal.  The Father along with the Son knows that we apart from Jesus can’t produce fruit for Jesus. Hence Jesus makes it clear to us that apart from him we can do nothing (vs. 5); we can’t produce good, sound, valuable, edible and marketable fruit.

If we are in him and do not produce fruit then we are bound to be put into the furnace of destruction.

Prayer: Lord, I firmly believe that apart from you I can do nothing. (Jn.5:5)

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us