Bearing Fruit
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John 15:1-7
1. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. 4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. 7. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.
Max Lucado devotes an entire book to this scripture in his book, “The Secrets of The Vine.” In that book he explains the painstaking care that grape vines require. They’re not like ivy or like my mint plants, or other plants that just go crazy and take over the garden. Those plants can grow and flourish in the most adverse circumstances. No rain -- that’s okay. No sun - no problem. They just grow and spread out and take on a life of their own. But mankind is like a grape vine. We need constant care and attention.
Lucado explains that vinedressers work just about 24/7 to care for their precious plants. If a leaf lays on the ground and get muddy, the vinedresser gingerly picks it up, cradles it in his hand and washes it off. The temperature is important too! If it gets too cold, fires are lit in the vineyard to protect the fruit from freezing, and the crop from being ruined. Too hot? Lots of water to keep the plants irrigated. And as referred to in this passage: constant pruning of dead branches so the healthy shoots can grow and spread out and the vine can produce more good fruit.
It was not until I read the book that I really understood the significance of being part of this vine to which Jesus refers. The people of that time would have understood, of course, how labor-intensive and all-encompassing that job would be. The livelihood of the family, and in some cases, extended family, depended on the vineyard’s yield. I understand these verses in a new way: God didn’t just give us life and then “turn us loose!” Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to win a place in history! He died because God so hated our sinfulness that he made Jesus our sin and had him crucified. God didn’t want us roaming around, with no direction or understanding, so he sent a savior to show us how to tend to each other.
After all those centuries of tender, loving care, we still needed to be held by the hand to find our way. Jesus came to tell us that we already know the way! Because of Jesus, we no longer wait to be told how to live and how to act. Because of Jesus we have no doubt that God loves us! Like the vinedresser in the story, God never sleeps, he never goes on vacation, he never stops walking up and down the rows and rows of grapevines, pruning here, lifting off the ground and tying up there, harvesting at the proper time.
This story may not have the same meaning for us today, but I think you get the idea. God never leaves us to our own resources! Jesus lived and died for us so that we would never forget that! Jesus is the way to the father. I don’t think it can be explained in more basic terms. Jesus is the way and the truth. He is, in fact, our very lifeline to the Father. We must be “connected” to the vine in order to bear fruit, we must be part of the vine. We must
be Jesus for the world.
I hope today you think of the loving care God affords us. And that you express your gratitude to the vinedresser by bearing much fruit.
Mary
