The True Vine
Scripture:
John 15:1-8.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Reflection
Dear sisters and brothers,
This is the one of the passages that intimately draws me always to God.
I am sure that it is for you too.
But, the question remains…how?
1. The True Vine:
I am the true vine.
I am the true joy.
I am the true peace.
I am the true hope.
I am the true faith.
I am the true love.
Because, all these come from my Father.
My Father is the vine grower.
He is the owner of everything.
He is the master of everything.
I am what I am because God the Father is in control of me.
In modern sense,
I am like a computer.
God is like the computer engineer.
God configures my life (Genesis 2:7).
He installs love operating system.
He installs the required divine softwares.
All the basic needs are done, He connects me with His divine breadth (Genesis 2:7).
He takes care of my smooth functioning continually being with me (Matthew 28:20).
He removes every virus that affects my functioning (Romans 5:8).
He reinstalls sometimes when required (2 Corinthians 12:10).
He updates me with His Spirit to renew and transform me (Acts 11:15).
He reconfigures.
He formats me if I need to be.
And I bear much fruit in my life.
2. Remaining…
The fundamental connections need to be proper for the functioning of a computer.
Likewise, my life must be connected or remained with our creator, so that we can live a witnessing life in our lives.
The word ‘remain’ comes 8 times in the above passage.
It simply reveals the importance of remaining with Jesus.
Without this connection, we become useless.
We may live but we are not really living a happy life.
The computer may function, but it is slow, and the display may not be clear and so on.
The purpose of an instrument or a technology, is to work according to the intention of the inventor.
In the same way, God has a purpose in every person’s life…and reveals it through the Word.
We must stick to the purpose and focus our entire energy to fulfil that purpose in our lives, so that the Word remains in us.
When we distract ourselves with our own personal will, we miss the focus to reach the destiny that God has created us for.
Yes… dear sisters and brothers,
When we act according to God’s purpose in our lives, we become his disciple bearing much fruit and having peace, joy, faith, hope and love in our lives.
By these, we glorify our creator in our lives through our words and deeds.
May the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen…
