The Vine and the Branches
A tip for abiding in Jesus
“ ‘Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.’ " - John 15:4-5
Branches don’t make fruit. Even though on first sight it appears that fruit comes directly from the branch, it is simply not the case. The fruit may be attached to the branch; the branch may be the bearer of the fruit, but have you ever seen a detached branch do anything but wither away? It’s worthless unless it stays connected.
Fruit is from the vine. Nothing grows without proper nourishment from the almighty vine. The vine is the source of the fruit. Fruit doesn’t come from the branch, but it comes through the branch.
Jesus uses a lot of farming illustrations. It makes sense because He was preaching to a bunch of people whose lives were directly connected to farming. This was an agrarian society so they understood the ins and outs of the land. For most, their lives depended on it. I also believe that Jesus used agricultural illustrations because their truth is timeless. While we’ve figured a lot about genetic engineering, it’s 2000 years later and fruit still comes from the vine and not the branches. And that will always be true. Even if we’re able clone apples or create grapes from a laboratory, the source of true fruit will always be the earth. It is as undeniable as gravity. Just a cold, hard fact of life on this planet.
Bearing fruit in our Christian lives is the same; we must remain in Him as the branch remains in the vine. Connected, constant, unbroken. This is not just an inspirational teaching. Abiding is an irrefutable truth. Without Jesus, without being connected to the true source of life, we can do nothing.
Of course, we can technically “do” a lot without Jesus. Endless activity and busywork are well within our ability. We aren’t strangers to striving, hustling, grinding; trying to make something happen under our own power is a common trait of the human condition. But those pursuits lack eternal value. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing that lasts. All we can achieve under our own power will be useless once we enter heaven or be washed away to the past after a few generations. Like a branch connected to the vine, the only lasting fruit we can bear comes directly from remaining in Jesus.
However, remaining in Jesus runs contrary to typical human behavior. Abiding is not our strong suit. We are natural-born strivers, yearning to build idols of achievement in our own image and claim credit for our wins. Yet… it is the only act that bears fruit. To abide means to allow Jesus to be the source of everything that you produce. Your words, attitudes, actions and pursuits. While this sounds simple, it is certainly not easy. Anyone who has followed Jesus for any extended period of time knows this struggle deeply in their bones. I know firsthand how insanely difficult this is. So, I offer one tip:
STOP.
The only way to ensure you are allowing the vine to work through you is to take a moment to cease all activity. Rest. Allow yourself to be nourished by vine. Then, it will make it easier to see how you might be striving and operating as a branch disconnected from the vine. The need to slow down regularly and eliminate all busy-ness from our lives is a life-giving opportunity. Once that can fill our tanks, simply in the absence of unnecessary action.
Take a moment this week to STOP. Simply to abide in Him and receive.
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