Last week, we began looking at 3 of the 7 “I Am” statements of Jesus as they appear in John’s gospel. WE considered Jesus as the Bread of Life and talked about how we must feast upon him every day. Next, we presented him as “The Resurrection and the Life.” Since Jesus rose from the dead on our behalf, we can have eternal life if our lives are hidden in him.
Finally, let’s think about the last of the 7 “I am” statements, where Jesus says in the opening verses of John 15: “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15: 1-5.)
I live in a rural forest community, where I’ve been told that many people used to cut down thick tree branches, decorate them and hang them on their ceilings at Christmas time. I imagine they looked beautiful during the festive season, but if those branches were left up for more than a few weeks, I’m sure some decay would be noticeable. That is because those branches had been cut off from their life source. They weren’t getting any more nourishment from the roots of the tree they came from. As beautiful as they looked for a while, from the moment the severing took place, death and decay started to creep in, becoming more visible over time.
It’s the same for us as Christians. Jesus is the true vine, and we are the branches. If we want to bear fruit, we have to stay connected to him. Have you ever felt disconnected? I know I have, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience, We can go on for a while pretending everything is okay. We might start feeling the strain on the inside, but it doesn’t show on the outside straight away. We can cleverly keep it hidden, until we can’t! …
Perhaps we start becoming a little frayed around the edges, and we stop manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, especially patience in my case. We lose that feeling of connection, and we know something is wrong. That’s when we need to reconnect to the vine. But in actual fact, it’s better not to get disconnected at all.
So how can we stay connected to Jesus the true vine? We try to overcomplicate things, but I believe it’s actually simple. WE stay connected by reading his word, spending time talking to him and hearing from him in prayer, and seeking to live lives that glorify him. If we want to know what kind of lives glorify him, then we find out by reading our Bibles and praying.
However, even when we are remaining or abiding in the vine, we have to expect a little pruning. Remember, a wise and loving parent disciplines the children he loves because he wants to bring out the best in them. Likewise, God prunes and disciplines us because he wants us to keep growing. I’ve seen plants that have been pruned back to virtually nothing, looking to the naked eye as though they are dead, and yet in time, they grow back even stronger than before.
Pruning can be an uncomfortable process, but it has to happen. It is a necessary part of growth. WE are pruned in all sorts of ways. Sometimes suffering is part of the pruning process, but we must never think god enjoys watching us suffer. He most definitely doesn’t. Yet since all things work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8: 28), he will bring good out of that suffering in order to help us flourish.
We will never bear fruit if we detach ourselves from the vine. Sadly, people sometimes do pull away from the Lord during times of pruning because they don’t like the process. It doesn’t seem to be part of the happy blessed Christian life they signed up for, so they give up and pull away from the very source of life. However, when they do that, they die. There’s no more green, and no more fruit.
One of the main reasons we’re here on earth is to bear fruit for our Saviour, so let’s stay connected, and trust him with the pruning even when it hurts.
There’s so much more we could have looked at during these past 2 weeks, but this was just a brief overview of 3 of Jesus’ “I am” statements. Perhaps it might give you the urge to study the rest. But as you do, remember that he is the great “I am”. God the Father, God the Son, and God The Holy Spirit are all one, and God introduced himself to Moses way back in Exodus at the burning bush as “I am”. He is everything that is good, true, and holy. Without him, there is only emptiness.
So feast on the bread, embrace the life he gives you and the resurrection to eternal life we are promised, and cling with all your might to the one and only true vine.