Beyond Religion: A Relationship with God

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5 ESV).

A vineyard needs a lot of sunshine and awful soil. Wait! What?

Yes. Bad dirt produces good grapes. When the soil isn’t great, the plant works harder to grow grapes instead of just growing leaves. That’s what a winemaker wants. So does Jesus.

That’s why He says, “Abide in me . . .”

Abiding is a dependent connection to Jesus. If the branch stays connected to the vine, the life-giving sap flows into the branch. This naturally produces grapes. If we stay spiritually connected to Jesus, His power flows through us. The natural outcome is to produce spiritual fruit.

Spiritual fruit includes the way He is changing our character and how He is using us to change others. We are fruitful when we abide in Jesus.

Jesus adds, “. . . apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b). I think Jesus meant: apart from me you can do nothing that counts. Nothing that bears real spiritual fruit. Nothing that brings real glory to God.

Each moment of our life, we have a choice to abide or not. We can do it in our own strength, or we can depend on Jesus.

Humility unlocks the power of God in our lives. I begin most mornings telling God what I can’t do. “Lord, I can’t walk with You today. I can’t love my wife the way I should. I can’t do my ministry today.” Then, I tell the Lord, “But You can, as You live Your life in and through me today.”

If we abide in Jesus, especially in the tough times, we will experience peace and fruitfulness. Let Him live in and through you. Let Him give you His courage, His love, His resilience in the face of setbacks. Stop striving. Start abiding.

The next time you are relaxing at the end of the day with a glass of wine, try this. Hold the liquid up to the light. Take a slow, deep breath and smell the scent. Then take a sip and enjoy the taste. As you do, remind yourself that many good things come from abiding.

Application Questions:

• How do difficulties make us more fruitful?
• What does it mean to have a “dependent connection to Jesus”?

Prayer:

“Lord Jesus, apart from You I can do nothing that counts for Your Kingdom. May I not strive in my own strength but let Your life flow through me allowing me to be what I could never be on my own.”

Duncan Parlett
California, USA
Ministry Partner Development Coach