Power source

Power source

Thought- Our hearts are our gardens, our thoughts the roots; Our words are our flowers, our deeds the fruits.

Scripture- “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.“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.  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.”

Insight: if you’ve ever seen a flourishing vineyard, what you see is a beautiful picture of how a branch bears fruit simply because of its secure connection to the Vine. It doesn’t labor, spin or toil it simply reaps the benefitsfrom being directly connected to its power source in the Vine. If it for any reason were to become disconnected from the Vine, the branch would offer nothing of value, and it would simply shrivel up and die.

In John 15:4 above we see a picture of how our relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit mirrors this same relationship. We are the branches and Lord Jesus is the Vine. If we remain connected to Him, we will bear or produce much fruit. Apart from Him we are told “we can do nothing.” In other words, nothing that will have real eternal value will be produced by us apart from Christ. So, our job as followers of Christ is simply to remain connected to Him. How do we do this? Jeremiah 29:13 offers sage counsel when it says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” We stay connected by seeking Him, by thinking of him constantly, by praying to him, by reading scripture, by meditating on his word and by listening for his responses. Like any meaningful relationship, we stay connected through time spent in His presence. As a good friend of mine once said, we can fake a lot of things in life, but we can’t fake showing up. When it comes to spending time with Jesus, we need to show up. If not, we risk being disconnected from our true power source, the Vine and that can lead to disastrous results. However, when we are connected, we can ease into bearing the fruit that is produced naturally from us abiding in that relationship. Like branches produce grapes not as a result of any effort but simply because of their connection to the Vine, the same will be true of our lives when we are connected to Christ. Naturally, good words, deeds and fruit will flow from us because of Him livingin us.

Prayer- Father God, strengthen us to remain in relationship with you through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit so we may produce good fruit. We live in an amazingly hectic world where many things vie for our time and attention. May we never put anything before you, and may we always abide in you so we can see the good fruit that is produced simply as a result of that relationship taking place. In Jesus name, Amen!