Abide in Me as I Abide in You
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
John 15: 1-8
Jesus uses the metaphor of the vine and the branches to describe His relationship with God and, by extension, our relationship with God. He speaks of removing branches that do not bear fruit and pruning those that do so that they will thrive. For a branch to bear fruit, it must abide with the vine, and Jesus tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches. When we abide in Christ, we can bear much fruit, but apart from Him we can do nothing. So, how does that apply to us in our daily lives? We must abide in Christ and He in us to bear fruit, or to be good disciples, sharing our love of Jesus and calling others to that same abiding love.
Jesus also talks of pruning the branches that bear fruit so that they bear even more fruit. To thrive, to bear fruit, we must prune our branches. When you prune things like grape vines or crepe myrtles or roses, you cut away the parts of the vine or bush that diminish nourishment and impede new growth. So, when we abide in Christ, we still must be mindful of those things in our lives which get in the way of our relationship with Him.
As you go about your day today, think on how you abide in Christ and what you might need to prune from your life for your faith to thrive.
A prayer for today:
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
"The Book of Common Prayer," p. 100
