Daily Bread - Dec 15 2006

John 15:4 - "Dwell in me and I in you. Just as the branch has no power to bring forth fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me."

Jesus has made the reality of God's will very plain to us by the use of this allegory. The life that God offers to us is one that is totally united with Him that functions as a result of His care and provision. A botanical understanding of a vine thoroughly and simply drives home the point. The vine is the only connection that the branch has to the source of the life-giving nutrients essential to its survival. The vine supplies the structure and resources from which the branch can produce the fruit. The fruit that the vine produces is specific to the DNA of the vine - which in this case is the fruit of God's own nature. It is the gardener's objective to tend the branches in such a way as to maximize, first, the quality of the fruit and, then, as the branch matures, the quantity.

Both the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ have not only purposed that we bring forth fruit but they have dedicated themselves to supply everything that we need in order to do so. Our role as the branch is very simple; all that we must do is obediently respond to the will of the Father who is cultivating our lives to fulfill the very specific objective of producing the fruit of the vine. As a branch, we must see our whole identity and purpose defined by the vine from which we grow. This intimate relationship and absolute identity ultimately results in Father doing whatever we ask (John 15:7; 14:13-14).

Blessings,

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen