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 15:5 (NIV)
Today, there was a utility truck in front of my house. The power company had sent a truck over to cut down the branches that were hanging over the power lines to my house. They cut down the branches, loaded them into a truck and took them away. As I watched them, I thought about today’s verse.
We are the branches. Branches are an important part of the tree. But they aren’t the main part. The branches can be cut away and the tree still lives and thrives. The main part is the vine or trunk, in the case of a tree. That trunk or vine is what provides nutrients to the rest of the tree. The vine provides strength to hold that plant steady in a storm.
This is the illustration Jesus used in today’s verse. We are branches, He is the vine. And it’s when we are in the vine that we are bearing fruit. So much of society today has written off God. To many He is not really relevant to day to day life. But today’s verse tells us that nothing could be farther from the truth. If we don’t have Jesus (the vine) we can’t be fruitful in life.
So we have to prioritize our relationship with Jesus. It’s in the connection with Jesus that we have wisdom, strength and everything we need to live life each day.
Today, examine your relationship to the vine. Are you connected with Jesus? Are you letting Him fill you, support you and love you? Or have you connected your life to a false vine?
Only you know the answer, but make any adjustments you need to make to make Jesus the source and vine of your life.
