Abiding in the Vine

Several days after cutting the grass in my backyard, I noticed that the grass clippings were no longer green, but brown. Of course, that made perfect sense because having being cut off from their source of food and nutrients, they could not survive. As I looked out at this natural occurrence, I thought of the words of Jesus: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman....As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me....I am the vine, ye are the branches...without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:1, 4b-5, KJV).

In our increasingly secular humanistic age where reliance on self and one's abilities are highly touted, the Christian, if not careful, can lose sight of this profound spiritual truth. I am sure most of us know, or at least have heard, those words spoken by Jesus, but have we taken the time to really understand them? The word "abide" implies staying or remaining in a given place or state, and Jesus used the word seven times in the first seven verses of John 15. Talk about emphasizing a point! The successful Christian is not the one who sings and prays the loudest, has the biggest Bible, speaks "spiritualese", or has a perfect record of Church attendance. It is the one who constantly stays connected to the source of all that pertains to life and godliness, Jesus Christ, the true Vine.

The aforementioned grass clippings didn't have a choice to stay connected to their life source, but when He spoke the words "If ye abide in me" (v.7), Jesus made abiding in Him a matter of personal choice. Amidst the hustle and bustle of our days and the many distractions we experience, sincere Christians have to make the time to nurture this most important of relationships. Disconnected from Christ we wither away spiritually, yet it doesn't have to be that way. Jesus made it possible for us to experience the richness of being sustained and kept by the richness that flows from Him, for as long as we choose to stay connected to Him. As you examine your own life, what choice does it reflect?

"Without me ye can do nothing." Lord, may the profoundness and reality of that truth provoke us to do whatever it takes to stay connected to you.