John 15:5-6
(5) I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. (6) If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken off] branch, and withers and dies; and they gather such branches and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
Jesus tells us that apart from Him we can do nothing! The secret to bear fruit is to stay connected to Jesus who is the vine.
Imagine a farmer who cuts off branches from his trees and he places them on the ground in one corner. Soon he comes to you with a problem and the problem is that his branches are not bearing any fruit.
He goes on to tell you that once every week he connects the branches to the trees for about 2 hours and then they are stashed back at the corner. What would you tell him?
I am sure you would wonder what kind of farmer this is and where they learned their farming practices because this cannot work. The branches will dry up and die! Amazingly, many of us expect it to work in our Christian life.
We want to connect with God on Sunday for a few hours and then the rest of the week detach ourselves and we still ask God why there is no fruit in our lives.
When we abide in the vine then we receive the necessary nutrients to be able to bear fruit. We are able to tap into the strength and power available to Christ. It is not an event; it is a relationship over time. It takes commitment and dedication
When you are connected to the vine, He becomes your all in all. You totally depend on Him you come to the realization that apart from Him you can do nothing. When you are connected you will love Christ and His people and you will be filled with Joy.
As I think about this, I wonder…. “What’s the use of a good phone if you are not connected?” The secret to bearing much fruit is to abide in Him, every day every hour stay connected to the vine.
Reflections.
What does abiding in Christ mean to you?
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Would you say that you abide in Him or you connect on various occasions when need be? How can you make this better?
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The quality and quantity of your fruit will be determined by your connection; so how much fruit do you have?
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