Abide in Him

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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” (John 15:1-2 NIV).

     As you gaze around your yard and see the various green living vines, bushes and trees, what do you think of?  You might notice the different hues of the color green in their leaves, the fullness and the health of each living one and possibly the budding and forming fruit that is destined to come from a particular plant or tree.  You may also notice one that is sickly or even dying.  Our lives are very much like the living plants that we see in our world.

    

 Jesus tells us that He is the Vine and His Father is the Husbandman that tended the vineyard.  From the vine comes the life giving substance that nourishes the branches and without that nourishment, the plant would die.  The health of the branches comes from the ability to absorb the flow of life from the vine.  If the flow of life is constricted, the branch will wither and die.  It the branch looks for a source of life outside of the vine by trying to absorb sustenance through its bark for instance, it would starve from the lack of true nourishment and die. Thus we find true life in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  It is in Him that we find life giving faith.  Faith that fully nourishes us for growth, faith that makes us healthy and faith that makes us recognizable as belonging to Him.  “As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you, abide in that love (John 15:9 NKJV). 

  

    Are we letting Christ’s life giving love flow deep into our hearts by abiding as branches drawing from the true vine or are we constricting our needed nourishment because we want to live life, our way?  We might have some life in us but how do really nourish growth and true health?  Are we looking outside the vine for life to come from other sources such as pleasures of this world?  They may feel good on the surface like water on the bark of the vine but they will dry off and leave us malnourished. Only the true Vine can bring life. We must look to Christ and desire to be fed by His Word, His Spirit and His abiding presence. Being with Him is the only way to be fully alive in Him.

“Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:7 NLT).

 Daily Reading ... Colossians 2 & John 15