God doesn’t expect us to go it alone. Nor does he expect us to find our own way and muster up enough inner strength to implement real and lasting change in our life. That is why he gave us the Holy Spirit. He guides, leads, and empowers us to live the Christian life. We have to be willing to yield control to God and let him lead. When we put our faith in Jesus, the Holy Sprit takes up residence within us. He promises to change our character, produce fruit in our lives, and give us new strength when we rely on him. It is awesome to think about God living within us. It is our goal to be transformed into Christ’s likeness, 2 Corinthians 3:18 and become complete in Christ, Colossians 1:28. Let’s take a moment to review a few vineyard facts. If you visit Israel and walk through a vineyard, you will see rocks holding up the branches of the grapevines. There are big rocks and little rocks, chosen according to the size that would support each branch. As the vinedresser walks through his vineyard, he not only clips branches that are unproductive but also lifts the productive branches off the ground so they can produce more. He props a rock under each branch that is heavy with grapes, so it can produce freely without breaking under the weight of the grapes. We are like the branches in the vineyard. In order to be spiritually fruitful, we need to do whatever it takes to stay connected to Jesus Christ, our true vine. And sometimes we need other people to be like those rocks, holding us up so we don’t snap off the vine in a moment of stress – or even as a result of our fruitfulness. Read Galatians 6:2. In a previous post, we learned that our life together with God and other Christians begins with connections – our faith in Jesus, time with fellow believers. It grows as we deepen those connections. In the scripture for this post, John 15: 1-8, Jesus uses the image of a grapevine to describe the intimate connection you need for spiritual growth. Imagine a vine with many branches. From some of these branches, great bunches of grapes are hanging. What enables the branch to produce grapes? The answer seems somewhat obvious, the vine. But if you really start thinking about it on a deeper level, the nourishment from the soil that comes from the soil and goes up through the roots of the vine into the branch causes the production of grapes. John 15, verse 1: I am the true vine. A branch produces grapes only when it is properly attached to the vine. Grapes were a sign of fruitfulness in the lives of God’s people, both in the Old and New Testaments, Isaiah 5:1-7. John 15, verse 2: taketh away. Jesus is drawing a distinction between those who have faith in him and those who don’t. Faithless branches will be cut off. If you are saved, you have no fear of being cut off, but you have to be pruned. John 15, verse 2: purgeth it. New grapevines are pruned for 3 to 5 years to train them before they are allowed to produce a crop. The word Kathaireo means “to purify” or “to cleanse.” Removing dead wood brings new life back to the branch. Pruning may be the process by which sin (a bad habit or an attitude) is removed from our lives to make us more fruitful. John 15, verse 4: Abide in me. Meno is to remain, to dwell, to endure. John 15:10, Jesus links remaining in him with obeying him. 1 John 2:24, John links remaining in Jesus with faithfulness to the gospel. How do you make a home and bear fruit in Jesus? I believe the answer is simply trusting Him as your Saviour, believing what the Bible says about Him and doing what He says which is love one another. Making a home in Jesus leads us to make choices that enable us to draw nourishment from Him. You have the choice how you will use your time and your mind. Devote time to taking in what He has said to you in the Bible. Readily receive the nourishment that comes as you pray and worship. Develop a habit of thinking about God throughout the day – practice His presence. We need to bring the reality of God before our minds routinely so that this reality nourishes our thoughts, feelings and actions. We are saved by grace through faith, not because we love well or pray every day. But if saving faith doesn’t lead to these actions, our lives here on earth will not delight God’s heart. When we make our home in the vine, we bear fruit.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 22:00:00 +0000
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