Not the best of days, but here I sit once again before You, Father. Once again use this poor lump of clay to accomplish Your will. Bring out from the weak, something that may be proclaimed as strong in Your name! Amen.
John 15:1-8 (<<click here to read the passage)
So, yesterday I spoke of fruit but just because Karen’s cousin did all the research and got all the arbors in place and planted the vines at just the right distance from each other, just because he did all of that, they didn’t have a great harvest that first year. The vines had to mature and as they did so, Ty had to laboriously tend to the vines.
For vineyards to produce a good crop of grapes the vines have to be tediously groomed. If a branch does not produce fruit, it is cut off. Even branches that do produce fruit are pruned in just the right way so that they will produce even more fruit!
Jesus says the same thing of us in these first few verses,
“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.” vs1-4 NLT
So, to be very clear God is the gardener, Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches.
When a grape farmer prunes the branches on his vines, he aims to accomplish two things: one, he will cut back, and second, he will cut off branches.
We all realize that when we live our lives striving to follow Christ, that it is not always easy. Life can get rocky. It definitely has its ups and downs. And some of those rocky places, some of those downs are more than just the difficulties of life. Ofttimes God may instigate or use whatever is already there to discipline us, to strengthen us, to cause us to realize that we must depend on Him. We cannot do it all on our own. When we do that, our faith is built and in turn, we can encourage others in having gone through those things ourselves.
God is not out to tear us down nor does He get a kick out of seeing us suffer. He loves us and does everything possible to make us strong in our faith. Even in the middle of it all, He is by our side all along the way.
If we have nothing to do with Jesus at all we obviously cannot be productive at all, so we are as good as dead and will be cut off and tossed aside. Those kinds of branches are cut off at the trunk not only because they are worthless but also because they often infect the rest of the tree. People who don’t bear fruit for God or who try to block the efforts of God’s followers will be cut off from his life-giving power.*
One last thing, we are never…ever beyond the point of redemption. Our Creator God can graft back the deadest of branches, bringing us back to life. The only thing that would stop that would be dying in our sins, separating ourselves eternally from Him. Lord, may it not be so…
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Sept 21st, 2021, Tues, 7:57 pm
