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
