“I am the vine, you are the branches;
he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit,
for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

The beauty about the lesson Jesus gives us in John 15:5 is how the branch is in complete surrender to the vine for all its needs. That is a powerful word picture for each of us. Picture in your mind…a massive grape vine twisting throughout a bordering fence having fragile branches dangling wonderful rich grapes. Isn’t that the Christian life? The vine (Jesus) gives of Himself all the nutrients, or sap (Holy Spirit), to feed the little branches so that much fruit is produced for others to be enriched by such delights. Notice that the fruit produced by healthy branches can be full, rich, and inviting for others to want more and more of it. The Father in Heaven is the vinedresser Who is not only the owner of it all, but the One who takes great care of all matters pertaining to the entire vineyard.

Problems arise when the branch fractures from the vine and for whatever the reason, there lies the dangerous outcome. The fruit would naturally shrivel and die from lack of nourishment as would the branch. If you don’t want to be a wrinkled, juiceless, forgotten grape then make sure that doubt, lack of prayer, anger, and unforgiveness haven’t left cracks in your precious union with the Father. Also don’t let fear, anxieties, lack of reading the scriptures, or your own demanding pride rupture the link. Jesus says, “He who abides in Me bears much fruit...”. Let's look at the word “abide” in the original Greek language in which the New Testament was written. “Meno” or “abide” means to stay in a given place, state, relationship, or expectancy. It also means to dwell, endure, be present, tarry, stand, remain, and to continue.” Now, go back to the verse and fill in "abide" with those words. How are you doing with abiding in Jesus? Are you letting Him dwell in you?

If I am truly honest here, all too often I think my motto has been, “I want what I want when I want it.” I’m embarrassed to even type this, let alone live it!! Selfishness, self-sufficiency, and self-centeredness are not God-centered or others-centered in any way, shape, or form. We are to place the needs of others' and God’s will before our own. I wonder, are we willing to surrender to God’s will and are we longing to receive all that He desires to pour into our lives? I know I desire to be the kind of branch that knows it depends upon the Divine vine, not only for every need I have, but to realize my purpose here is to bear much fruit for the world to see and to partake in. I'm bound in every way to the Vine and want to have His life-giving sap flow through me. Let's meditate on the word “abide” and direct our wills to live out that truth.