Breathe and Bear Fruit
John 15:1-7 , says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
I was driving to my mom's house the other day; halfway there, I noticed that I'd been driving on "autopilot." I had been trying to control the outcome of my worries, cares, and plans to such a degree that I allowed my body to drive without me.
Very quickly, I brought my thoughts back to the wheel; I also thought about the passage above. I get so wrapped up in the temporary cares, worries, and plans of every day life that I forget how connected I am to God, to Jesus. Jesus is, "the true vine." God nurtures and cares for Jesus "the vine" and for me -- one of "the branches."
We struggle to control all of the balls we are juggling -- ministry, work, family, and all of the projects to which we have said, "yes." We worry and fret and struggle to control all of this by our own power. Instead, this passage holds the key: "every branch that does bear fruit he prunes." When our lives are overly heavy with fruit, God will prune from us what needs to be pruned, or He will nudge us to do the pruning. We just need to take a breath and draw near to Jesus, allowing Him to direct our steps.
"No branch can bear fruit by itself." We take on so much, trying to do many things in our own strength, forgetting our intimate attachment to the vine.
"If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Bearing fruit doesn't mean we are leading people to Jesus daily, or ministering to the sick, lost, and hurting, every minute; Galatians 5:22,23 tells us that fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Our connection to the vine means that we do not need to force-fit those characteristics by our own power. Instead, when we settle in as the branch of The Vine, our fruit grows and those characteristics blossom and grow as an extension of our connection to Him.
We can stop doing everything in reverse -- by our power, and surrender it all to the supernatural power of the Lord. What freedom there is in knowing that we will naturally bear fruit when we remain in Him! Instead of struggling to maintain patience, to find joy, to be kind, to feel peace, we are naturally infused with those attributes as we fuse with Jesus -- one vine, many branches, so much fruit.
I was driving to my mom's house the other day; halfway there, I noticed that I'd been driving on "autopilot." I had been trying to control the outcome of my worries, cares, and plans to such a degree that I allowed my body to drive without me.
Very quickly, I brought my thoughts back to the wheel; I also thought about the passage above. I get so wrapped up in the temporary cares, worries, and plans of every day life that I forget how connected I am to God, to Jesus. Jesus is, "the true vine." God nurtures and cares for Jesus "the vine" and for me -- one of "the branches."
We struggle to control all of the balls we are juggling -- ministry, work, family, and all of the projects to which we have said, "yes." We worry and fret and struggle to control all of this by our own power. Instead, this passage holds the key: "every branch that does bear fruit he prunes." When our lives are overly heavy with fruit, God will prune from us what needs to be pruned, or He will nudge us to do the pruning. We just need to take a breath and draw near to Jesus, allowing Him to direct our steps.
"No branch can bear fruit by itself." We take on so much, trying to do many things in our own strength, forgetting our intimate attachment to the vine.
"If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Bearing fruit doesn't mean we are leading people to Jesus daily, or ministering to the sick, lost, and hurting, every minute; Galatians 5:22,23 tells us that fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Our connection to the vine means that we do not need to force-fit those characteristics by our own power. Instead, when we settle in as the branch of The Vine, our fruit grows and those characteristics blossom and grow as an extension of our connection to Him.
We can stop doing everything in reverse -- by our power, and surrender it all to the supernatural power of the Lord. What freedom there is in knowing that we will naturally bear fruit when we remain in Him! Instead of struggling to maintain patience, to find joy, to be kind, to feel peace, we are naturally infused with those attributes as we fuse with Jesus -- one vine, many branches, so much fruit.
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