Staying in the True Vine
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NLT)
In the vine’s parable, Jesus describes Himself as the True Vine and His disciples as branches of Himself. In the same way, we, as Christians, are branches of the Vine, Jesus. It is an accurate metaphor, but how do we see that practically?
Jesus said in this parable that we can’t do anything without Him, our Vine. But when we stay in Him, we will bear a lot of fruit. Wouldn’t we want to be fruit-bearers? How can we, as branches, stay in the Vine and bear fruit, and why should we do that?
What is a vine?
A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent stems, lianas, or runners. Its stem requires support and climbs by tendrils, winds or creeps along the ground and often uses neighboring plants, rocks, trees, fences, or other structures for physical support. Usually, the first thing we think of is grapes. However, even melons and common tomatoes are vine plants.
When I think of Jesus as the Vine, I see the metaphor linked to Him using us for support. Of course, He doesn’t literally need our support, but in some way He does. He needs us here on earth to do His will; we are His hands and feet. In this way, we support His ministry.
Jesus referred to this unity as we remain in Him and He in us. We both have a responsibility to keep supporting each other. It is our Christian covenant with Him.
How does a vine grow?
Vines climb and support themselves by using either twining stems, tendrils, aerial roots, or adhesive disks. Vines that twine will physically wrap their stems around supports. Relating this again to Jesus, I see Him wrapping His arms around us, His support here on earth. His warm, welcoming, well-able, and strong arms wrapped around us enable us to grow together with Him and expand His ministry on earth.
What is the purpose of a vine?
The vine and its branches contain the same essence, the same life. There is one plant, not a two-fold distinction. The function of the vine is to pump life to the branches, and the function of the branch is to produce the fruit of the vine.
That is also the core meaning of the parable of the vine. We share the same life with Jesus, our Vine, we are one with Him (if we stay in Him). He pumps life into us, His branches. As a result, we bear fruit. What a wonderful unity! Vine and branches share one life and thus produce fruit, much fruit.
How can we stay in the Vine?
Jesus said without Him we can’t produce fruit and in order to bear fruit, we should stay in Him. How can we stay in Him?
The fundamental way to remain in Jesus is to have a personal relationship with Him and to do what He wants us to do, to be obedient. A relationship speaks of love. Being obedient simply means doing what we are told to do. God wants us to walk in both: walk in love and walk in obedience. By living this way, we automatically stay in Him. We won’t need to do much for it other than give Him our hearts and continue doing so. As a result, we stay in His love.
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” John 15:9-10 (NLT).
If we say we love Him and don’t do what He wants us to do, we are breaking our part of the covenant. It will cause us to break off from the Vine. The Bible says, “anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned” (John 15:6; NLT). When we are no longer rooted in Jesus, our lives will be haphazard, useless, and unfruitful.
Having a personal relationship with Jesus means we voluntarily spend time with Him and dwell in His presence because we love to do so, not because others tell us to do it or because it is expected of Christians. We love to spend quality time with our spouses and families, we can apply the same principle to our relationship with God.
Interestingly, quality time doesn’t have to take many hours (if we don’t have the time for it). Quality time is when we give our undivided attention to a loved one in such a way as to strengthen the relationship, no matter the duration of it. Quality time with God strengthens our relationship with Him and ensures that we remain in Him.
So, how do we spend quality time with God? We do that by having personal quiet time with Him and by engaging in activities that please Him because they are in line with His will. We can think of several ways to do so:
Bible reading
Bible journaling
Meditating
Worshipping
Praying
Prayer journaling
Listening to Christian music
Attending church service
Serving in the church
Evangelism
Reaching out to people in need
Offering comfort and encouragement to people around us
Etc.
What fruits can we bear?
Our fruits can be seen in the way we are, live, and serve. It refers to our character, behavior, and actions. Galatians 5 verses 22 and 23 show the type of fruits we will bear when we abide in Christ:
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
These character traits are for our own benefit and that of others. We will simply be pleasant to be with. More importantly, we will do His will when we exhibit these qualities and use them in our daily lives.
Is it easy to live this way? In our human strength: no, we can’t! With God on our side: yes, we can! God doesn’t require us to produce the fruit in our own strength, we would miserably fail. That is exactly the reason He says we should stay in Him, because it is only then that He can pump life into us, His life.
So, give up trying to be Christ-like. Give up trying to please God. It will only wear you out. Surrender to God, and His Spirit in you will do the rest.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
Why should we stay in the Vine and bear fruit?
The number one reason we should stay in Christ is because He says so. Second, fruit-bearing is the calling of every Christian and we can only do so when we stay in Him. However, there are also personal benefits to remaining in Christ:
God will answer our prayers.
“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!” John 15:7 (NLT)
We will be His loyal disciples and bring glory to God.
“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” John 15:8 (NLT)
We will have joy.
“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” John 15:11 (NLT)
We will be His friends.
“You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:14 (NLT)
God will not cut us off.
“He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit.” John 15:2a (NLT)
God will prune us.
Now that may not sound attractive, but it is a good thing. Pruning removes every dead thing from our lives and makes room for fresh growth and protects us from damage.
“And he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” John 15:2b (NLT)
We will have a godly character; we will be Christ-like.
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
We will be free from the curse of the law.
“There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)
Take-away
God created us to be with Him, not just eternally, but during our time here on earth as well. We can choose to embrace that or neglect it. The choice is ours. When we choose to live daily in His presence, strongly rooted in the Vine, we will reap the benefits and bear much fruit, godly fruit. Our lives will be intertwined with Him, living in unity with Christ and with His life-giving Spirit in us.
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