Stay on the Vine
Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2)
John 15:1-11; Isa. 5:1-7; Ps. 80:8; Gal. 5:22, 23; II Pet. 1:5-8
What Is God Saying?
The time of our Lord's suffering and sorrow, Gethsemane and Calvary, was looming on the horizon. Jesus, loving His disciples to the end gave them words by which to live when He knew He was about to die. To them were entrusted the responsibility and the joy of service. In them should be found love and obedience. From them, good fruit was to come to a good harvest. He shared with them good and necessary things they must know, hard things they must bear, and loving things they must do—the need for humble service in Chapter 13; the peace and comfort of Chapter 14; the secret of staying well in a world infected with evil and of going on when the oppositi0n keeps coming on in Chapter 15; the promise of His presence and comfort in the Holy Spirit in Chapter 16; His prayer to the Father for them in Chapter 17.
They were bewildered and anxious as they watched the storm clouds gather. Nevertheless, Jesus is talking not only of the imminent end of His life but also the continuat10n and fruitfulness of their lives. The analogy of a grapevine was known to any devout Jew. Fruitfulness in doing God's work (Isa. 5:1-7) was expected of God's people. There were few Jews of that day who had not had hands-on experience in pruning and caring for grapevines. Jesus took a common thing to bring home a glorious truth.
This is a telling illustration of our time as well. Stay on the Vine and our lives will count. Accept the pruning. It is proof that God loves us and sees a future for us. Pruning does two things-it gets rid of the dead and useless branches and it encourages the growth of the good branches. It cuts away the bad and cuts back the good. Pruning is always good and always necessary to cut away the useless branches that may encumber or infect the other branches, or to encourage growth in the promising branches. The fruit that is thus promoted is clear. (15:7) First, there is prayer, ‘If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you;’ second, there is joy, ‘These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full';’ third, there is love, ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’ Choose to abide (John 15:6).
Pray With Me
Lord, You are the Vine. Thank You for the privilege of being a branch. Thank You for the nourishment and the fruit-bearing that You send into my life. Thank You for the power to be an extension of Your love to a hungry world. I know that this flow of life will continue quietly, steadily, and unfaltering as long as I, like a branch, abide in the Vine. I can choose not to abide in the Vine. You said, ‘If a man does not abide in me...’ I can choose not to read Your Word. I can choose to place competing interests before discipleship. I can be busy with trivial pursuits rather than glorify You. I can get my values all mixed up, attaching more importance to the pressures of the moment than to Your quiet commands. I can break the bond that is needed for nourishment.
Guard me, dear Lord, at any moment when I am tempted to turn from You. Keep me from cutting corners with Your Truth. There can be no good life apart from Your Life. I choose to abide. Abiding is the secret of life. It enables the vine to use the branch for the bearing of fruit. ‘Every branch that bears no fruit, you take away.’ I want to be a fruit-bearing branch. Teach me patience in all Your pruning. Hold before me the great rewards of simply abiding.
In the name of the True Vine, glorified in abiding branches. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
The Vine has life and gives it. The branch bears fruit and shares it. So, in prayer, let us stay on the vine with the Father and with His Son, our Lord. A fruitful life is always nourished in prayer. Prayer is not a list of requests, it is a form of abiding.
