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"I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing."
John 15:1-2, 4-5
On a recent trip to San Francisco my husband and I drove up to Santa Rosa and the Napa Valley to visit relatives and friends. Since God has been teaching me about abiding in the vine, I was interested in looking up close at the acres of grape vines. In the early spring, the green growth was just beginning so I could clearly see the sturdy vines growing up out of the ground, twining around the specially placed wires, and then the fresh, fragile new branches sprouting forth at quite evenly spaced intervals along the vine.
Just as these new branches are totally dependent upon the vine for a place from which to sprout and grow and receive nourishment, so am I completely dependent on Jesus. The green branch can do nothing if it isn't attached to the vine. It can't grow, it can't bloom, it can't produce grapes. It's good for nothing except the trash heap. God, the gardener, prunes me so I can bear better fruit, but again, I can do nothing on my own. My part is to remain attached to the vine. This is my work.
I do this work by staying in His word, by talking with Jesus, and by acknowledging a daily, moment by moment dependency upon Him. I keep myself open to a constant flow of the Holy Spirit through me, just as the branch receives nourishment from the sap that flows from the roots to the vine. As I do this, the vine, Jesus, produces in me the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance are the beautiful fruits he produces in me and I bear them for all to see, a witness to Him.
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Abiding in the Vine
