Vines

May 25

I Samuel 24-25

Psalm 65:9-13

Proverbs 14:17-19

John 15

Vines

“Remain in Me and I in you.  Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.  I am the vine and you are the branches.  The one who remains in Me, and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.”  John 15:4-5 HCSB

Jesus often used word pictures to explain concepts that were difficult to understand.  He used everyday objects that those He was talking to were very familiar with.  Vineyards were very common in the Middle East, and they would have understood the significance of the branches being a part of the vine.  If the branch is not connected to the vine, it would die very quickly.  It cannot bear grapes.  In the Christian life, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches.  We must stay connected to Jesus to bear fruit.  The more time we spend with Jesus in prayer and Bible study, the more intimate our relationship will be.  The closer our connection, the more fruit we will bear.  Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what fruit we can expect to bear if we stay close to Him.  “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.” (NIV) A believer who is walking in intimate fellowship with Jesus will have the benefit of these fruits overflowing from them.  They will have joy in the midst of pain, peace during difficult times, patience in trials, and they will be able to extend love, kindness, and gentleness to those around them.  They will exhibit goodness in the face of evil.  They will be faithful and be able to control their passions and resist temptation.  Those things don’t come naturally.  They come because of Jesus’ work in our hearts.  If we are not spending time with Him, He cannot accomplish that work in us.  There is a direct correlation between the emphasis we give to our relationship with Jesus and the manifestation of those qualities in our lives.  We are all a work in progress and there will never be a time, this side of Heaven, when all those fruits are found perfectly in us. My prayer is that I would be holding on to the vine so tightly that fruit would overflow from my branches.