The Vine and the Branches
(A Follow-on to “Remember”)
By Shirley Mitchell
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will 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.”
John 15:1-4
On the last night with His disciples, I believe the faces of Jesus’ disciples were burning in His heart. His eyes must have been moist. I can see Jesus trying to grab every facial expression and every bit of human eye contact He could for His last few hours with His disciples. He was trying to savor these last moments with them. Yes, He knew He would see them again but only briefly until heaven. He knew what they would endure on account of Him so He communicated to them deeper than ever. He knew that in a little while they would cling to these last words. For now, they were struggling to follow the majestic things that He was saying. So He gave them another object lesson by using something that was familiar to them to teach them about the divine.
The sight of a vine with branches bearing fruit was common to the eleven men sitting around the table. Some may have known firsthand how to grow a luscious vineyard or garden. In their time on the kingdom calendar, they were so connected to the land for their survival. They did not have grocery stores that barricaded them from knowing the simple facts of how to cultivate a garden. Let’s talk about the basics of the vine and the branches so we can understand fully Jesus’ comparison of gardening to our walk with God.
The branch is totally dependent on the vine for life and for fruit. Since the branch has no life by its own power, it must be attached to the vine so the life of the vine flows through it. The NIV uses the word “remain.” It is the Greek word meno which means “to remain, abide, dwell, live…to remain in or with someone, to remain united with him, one with him in heart, mind and will…remaining steadfast, persevering in it.” Remaining or abiding is the evidence of salvation. Fruit is the evidence of abiding. If you and I abide, then people will see fruit. Just as a fruit tree does not have to think or strategize on how to bear more fruit, so it is with us “branches.” When we attach ourselves to the vine, the natural product will be fruit. We concentrate on our relationship with Christ, not counting the size of our fruit bearing. The Holy Spirit is the sap that runs through the vine to produce the fruit.
Even though the branch bears the fruit, it does not produce the fruit. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. It is a waste of time. It is the divine partnership. In Him, we flourish. Without Him, we fail. An easy way to uncover our independent ways is to examine our prayer life. If we are dependent on Him about something, then we will pray about it. If we are not dependent, then maybe we haven’t even brought it up to God. Or perhaps we have mentioned it to Him, but only to ask Him to rubber stamp the plans we have made. Or maybe we’ve prayed, but we do not believe He will act.
Abiding takes consistency driven by a passion for Christ. I wake up early to be with Him almost every day for one reason alone. It is not because I don’t dearly love my sleep. I do. However, I love my God more. It takes discipline to go to bed early enough and to say “no” to the things that entice this night owl to stay up late. It takes a passion to get out of bed and slip into the bathroom for Bible study and prayer time. (Yes, my time with Him is usually on my bathroom floor!)
By abiding with Him, you and I become more and more like Him. We take on the family characteristics. After my precious adopted daughter Victoria had lived with us for several months, my friend Catherine made the most interesting comment to me. She said, “Shirley, there is no question that Victoria is a Mitchell girl. She has taken on your family’s mannerisms, speech, facial expressions, tone of voice, and actions. She acts just like you all.” I had not realized it since the change was gradual, but Catherine was right.
It is the same for you and me. After consistently abiding in Him, we resemble the family. By abiding in Him, you and I can do things that we couldn’t. We can feel things that we wouldn’t. We can understand things that we couldn’t. We are not limited by our natural abilities. We are not restrained by any personality “quirk.” We can overcome our past. We can have strength for today. We can have the mind of Christ to know how to handle things that are beyond us. We begin to act like Jesus!
Pray with me: Oh, LORD, You are the Master Gardener. Jesus, You are the vine, and we are merely the branches. Holy Spirit, flow through us like sap flows through branches. Abiding in You is the sweetest part of life. Help us to be deliberate about our time with You. Create in us consistency. Bear fruit in us. Apart from You we can do nothing. Prune away from us the things that don’t bear fruit. Clip away the things in life that don’t have kingdom value. We want to resemble the family characteristics. It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.
Excerpt from the Jesus Lives Bible study