“I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” – John 15:1-8 (NKJV)
Jesus prepared His disciples with the illustration of the grapevine, to showcase the importance of remaining in close relationship with Him. While Jesus certainly knew that the cross was fast approaching, the disciples didn’t understand yet that He needed to die to save the world.
Throughout the Old Testament scriptures, the grapevine signified Israel’s fruitfulness in doing God’s work throughout the earth. Each year during the Passover festival, the fruit of the vine was taken as a celebration of God’s goodness to His people and in remembrance of their deliverance from slavery under the hand of the Egyptians.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, conquering death and the grave, we all have the chance to abide in Him, remaining close to the Vine, and as a result know the Vinedresser Who created us. We weren’t created to be self-sufficient but rather fully dependant on Jesus Christ. The power of the Holy Spirit and the living and active Word of God keep us continually drawing near – abiding in Him.
In our choice to be fully dependant on Him, it is a promise that He will prune us. Doesn’t sound like a promise that many of us willing want to sign up for, but His great love for us desires for us to grow with Him. To fulfill His Kingdom work throughout the earth, and to rid ourselves of the ways of the world. At times we enter into the pruning willingly, through surrender… and at other times His pruning appears as discipline and it can be painful. It often takes time for us to experience the joy of the pruning or have eyes to see how the pruning is good for us at all, and yet His Word promises us a blessing. He promises to remove anything that isn’t good for us, and that which was good that’s been removed was removed for the purpose of us being able to bear much more fruit.
When we realize that the fruit is His responsibility to produce in us, it helps us keep our focus on the intimacy and joy that we find in Him. Without Jesus we can do nothing! Let’s be women who embrace our full dependency on the One Who gave us this abundant life. Amen?
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