Something To Consider: The Vine & The Branch III

Something To Consider: The Vine & The Branch III: I will cover a couple more verses in John 15 that I think are important for us to understand. John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As t...

The Vine & The Branch III

I will cover a couple more verses in John 15 that I think are important for us to understand.


John 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

The word "abide" here means to continue. If we continue to walk with Christ and let Christ live in us, something divine will happen. Things will really change. Like the disciples, we too will see things differently. Whenever Jesus lives in a person it always tends to life. He brings us back to a state of being complete or sound. The demoniac is delivered and the dead raised back to life. Its almost as if God wants to restore that fellowship He had with His creation before the fall. The eyes of blind men are opened, not just physically but spiritually. So much more God wants to give us, if we will continue in Him. When you really hunger to know Christ, periodic visits to church will leave you empty and confused. God wants our full attention, not the "when we get around to it" attention. He often gets our leftovers, if we have anything left at the end of the day. We won't know Him like that. We may know about Him, but that's not the same as knowing Him.  Just as we may know about a famous person, but not really know them. We have to choose to honor Him everyday, to seek Him everyday. If not, we wander around the mountain like Israel did, never getting anywhere and never entering into His promises. Its not His fault, it's ours. No matter how much we desire to change or to submit to Him, we will fail if we don't continue in Him. "Well God sees my heart". Yes He does, it's true. But He gives us the formula for spiritual success, if I can put it that way. "Abide" He said. When we do, we have strength to resist sin and temptation. When we continue in His word, it is somehow easier to love our brothers and sisters. Amazing how the ways of God work. We rise up out of depression and oppression. We suddenly become the "light" we were ordained to be from the beginning. We wake up and begin our day singing "greater is He that is in me". And in all reality it was very simple, abide. This is the natural course of the vine and the branch. It is the natural course for Christ and His Church.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

As I was cleaning my yard this past fall, I went around and picked up all the dead branches that had fallen from the trees. They were only good for fire. I would be foolish to think maybe I can graft it back onto the tree. It was too late. When we get outside of Christ, its easy for us to get gathered back into the old lifestyle of sin. Many find themselves doing things they once despised. Gathering at places they previously would never step into. As the Apostle Paul said "drawing back unto perdition". Brothers and sisters, let's be careful to examine the path of Christ closely so that we might walk successfully. In this is our Heavenly Father glorified, that we bear much fruit.

May God bless us with wisdom to abide!