Grow: Becoming More Like JesusSample

VINE and BRANCHES

In these verses, Jesus is talking to his closest friends. He weaves together different parts of following him.

a. God loves Jesus (verse 9).

b. Jesus loves us the same way God loves him (verse 9).

c. We abide in (or stay connected to) Jesus as we accept his love (verse 4 and others).

d. We obey Jesus as we abide in him (verse 10).

e. We bear fruit as we obey and abide in Jesus (verse 5).

f. We show we are his disciples (learners and followers) as we bear fruit (verse 8).

g. We now love others (verse 17) which is possible because God loves us (verse 1).

All these things are tied together in a genuine relationship with Jesus. We don't get to pick and choose which parts of following Jesus we like best. We can't just spend time alone with Jesus - we must also serve others. We can't just bear fruit - we must also grow deep roots of faith and wisdom.

All of the things are connected to each other and flow from each other. Love, abide, obey, fruit, learn, love, abide, obey, fruit, learn, love, abide, obey ...

You get the idea. Following Jesus as Lord (not just hanging out with him as a friend) starts and ends with love, and is filled with abiding, learning, and bearing good fruit.

TO THINK ABOUT

How do you "abide" in Jesus on your own? with others?

What parts of the love-abide-obey-fruit-learn-love process is hardest for you? Why?

How do you feel about "being obedient" to God? Why?

Explore other resources from Young Life Discipleship including more Bible A pp reading plans.