Abideනියැදිය

Jesus is the Vine and We are the Branches

Jesus takes the guesswork out for us and makes it plain as day that He is the source—the Vine. In Him is all that we need; there is no other source that can provide pure, unadulterated life, nourishment, care, and fruitfulness. He is the only one. And if we remain in Him and He in us, then the promised result is producing much fruit.

It’s this fruit that we all desire to see in our own lives, and it is bursting forth from the very vine we are attached to. We get to choose to remain.

Vines have branches that get woody, and when left unattended, can become hardened, bare, and/or diseased. The same is true for us—if we don’t know how to remain in Christ in our daily lives and throughout each season, life can harden us. Before we know it, fruit becomes more scarce, and what was once flourishing and fruitful is now a bare and dying branch that has taken the space where life should be.

Unfruitfulness is a scary place to be. When we’ve deadened and are no longer bearing fruit, we risk being cut off and burned with the rest of the pile. It sounds callous, but vines that depend on life have the overall health of the harvest in mind. Deadened branches must be tended to.

While this is true, Jesus gives us a space to contemplate and take inventory of our condition. Isn’t He kind to do so?

As we accept the invitation to self-reflect, Jesus provokes us to realign in Him. He leads us to desiring more in Him—not just to merely remain in Him, but now His words remain in us.

His words, which bring life, now become words of faith in our lives, guaranteeing that whatever we pray in Him will be granted to us as well.

A simple branch that tends to itself in health can hold on to the promise that whatever is produced in health can then be granted to us in Him.

We are the reflection of the Vine.