Have you ever read something in the Bible several times and completely miss its point?
I've heard the verse so many times where Jesus says "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) In my mind I've always skipped over the meaning of this and just thought that God prunes the bad parts of me away, and leaves the good to bear fruit. But recently I was struck by how deep this verse really goes.
Jesus is the source of life, the vine that feeds the branches. If the branches are not part of the vine, they wither and die, but the branch that remains in the vine is fed from a wellspring of life that never ceases, and can bear fruit to show God's glory.
I used to think that this verse was about pruning, but now I see that it is about sustaining, about resting in Jesus, and trusting him.
There is not a lot of self-effort shown in this verse. This verse shows the opposite of striving and trying to direct our own lives. When Jesus warns "apart from me you can do nothing" we can take that as truth. Whatever the desires of our heart are, whatever fruit we want to bear, cannot be accomplished if we are not remaining in Jesus.
Sometimes I have to force myself to stop my strivings and my plans and make sure that I am resting in Jesus, trusting him to be the source of life. And that seems a lot better than my plans ever did.
Jesus, please turn my heart to you in all things. Help me to be still and to rest in you, giving all my hopes and plans to you.
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