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. (John 15: 1-5 NIV)
JESUS
is using the picture story of a vine and its branches to
describe our relationship with Him. He is the True Vine
and GOD the FATHER is the Gardener. JESUS is the source
of life for us just as the vine (root) is the source of
life for the branch. The FATHER takes care of us just as
the gardener takes care of the vine (tree). He removes the
bad branches that do not bear fruit and prunes the good
branches so they can bear more fruit.
Ever
wonder why things, that seem good in our life, are taken
away from us? Pruning!
It’s
so we can bear more fruit to HIS Glory!! But this can’t
happen unless we remain in JESUS just like the branch can‘t
bear fruit unless it is connected to the vine.
Remember:
The branch can’t bear fruit of itself. It has to be
connected to the vine. Likewise, we can’t bear fruit
on our own. It’s the work of JESUS (The HOLY SPIRIT).
We need to stay in JESUS and HE in us for our life to be
fruitful.
Which
brings us to this question: Who is the fruit for?
Think
of the tree. It’s fruit is not nourishment for itself.
The Fruit of the Spirit is not for us. Our life is in CHRIST,
just as the branch is in the vine. The Fruit of the SPIRIT
that we bear (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Gal 5:22&23
NIV), is for the WORLD! It is our testimony to the world
of who the ONE TRUE GOD is.
And
it should be remembered that the word FRUIT is singular.
It’s not Fruits. These nine that are listed are one.
You don’t have any of them without the others. If
you do, it’s not of GOD. Our old nature sometimes
tries to imitate some of the fruit by our own effort, but
it always falls short. It’s not good fruit. Only JESUS
is the source of the real fruit that should hang on us.
Our
part, as a branch, is to STAY CONNECTED!
Selah
–pause and think about this. To HIM be the honor and
glory - Amen |
