If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. – John 15:6 (NIV)
Have you ever noticed that when you cut a flower from it’s stem, in a few days it starts to wilt and die? Why? Because plants when they’re no longer apart of their stem die.
Really the same is true for us too. In John 15:1, Jesus refers to himself as the true vine. As the vine, He is our source of life. So when we try to live our lives without Him, we lose all our power, energy, and we in essence die. No, obviously we don’t curl up and die a few days later. However, without Jesus as the center of our lives, we’re living life in vain.
Now you might put a lot of energy into extracurriculars at your school. You might love band, or sports, or archery, or some other extracurricular activity. But if that activity cuts into your time with Jesus, it’s not good. If that activity becomes more important to you than Jesus, you’ll be losing the power of the Christian life.
You were created to be in communion and daily fellowship with Jesus. Anytime you get away from that, you’ll lose your effectiveness as a Christian. Your power comes from your connection to Jesus. So in this New Year, take some time to begin to think about how much effort you’re placing on knowing Jesus. Make Jesus your priority and you will experience more joy, peace, love patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness and self-control within yourself as it then flows through you into the lives of those around you.