Vineyards are a way of life in many countries around the world. A vine and branch are a common symbols of the intimacy of our relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ (Isaiah 5:1-7, 27:2-6).
No branch can bear fruit unless it is connected to the Vine, with the
nutrients from the roots and leaves flowing into each branch through the Vine
(John 15:4).
The only way to bear fruit for God's Kingdom is by abiding in the Vine. In Christ, we bear much fruit (John 15:5). He puts us in the right place, at the right time, with the right people to impact lives.
God's abiding fruit gives us a new personality, prunes the decaying
negative characteristics from our life, and nurtures the positive aspects,
which He birthed in us.
He replaces hatred with love, discontentment with peace, irritation
with patience, criticism with gentleness, backbiting with goodness, worry with
faith, pride with meekness, and depression with true joy as He controls and
guides us by His Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
The branch has no responsibility but to allow the life of the Vine to
produce fruit through it. The branch is securely attached to the Vine, an
integral part of the makeup of the Vine.
To abide in the Vine means to be so unified with the Vine that there is
no difference between the two. We flow out of the Vine, reaching up to God's
life-giving Son and basking in the refreshing later rains (John 15:2; Joel
2:23).
Prayer:
Father God, remind us that the Vine and branch are one entity, created
for the purpose of bearing fruit to sustain a famished world dwelling all
around us. Without this union, the branch dies and is pruned, discarded and
burned in the fire.
Help us to enter into Your rest and to patiently hang out with the
Vine, enjoying the cooling winds of the Spirit and the warming rays of Your
Son. Encourage us to continue in Christ throughout our lifetime (Hebrews 4:10).
Thought for the Day:
If a branch is torn from the Vine by the storms of life, it no longer
bears fruit and it withers and is thrown into the fire to be burned; yet, if we
weather the storms of life by clinging to the Vine, we remain in the Vine and
bear even more fruit.
- John 15:6
