“I Am The Vine”
“I am the vine, you are the
branches: He that stays in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit:
for without me you can do nothing.” (v.5)
Simply put Jesus is saying as
long as we stay connected to Him (the vine), we (the branches) will remain
spiritually nourished and bear fruit. But, break that connection and we will
begin to spiritually wither and die, and like a broken branch, we will not
blossom - bear fruit.
Staying in Jesus means
digging into His Word and filling our hearts and minds with His nourishing
truth. This strengthens our inner man and prepares us to share with others (as
the spirit leads), feeding them from the fruit we have developed by abiding in
Christ.
However, break that connection
and we will be as useless as a fig tree without figs, or a grape vine without
grapes. We can do nothing for Him because our witness, our testimony, our walk,
has become lifeless, withered and unfruitful.
The Truth
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you
abide in Me.” (John 15:4)
