John
15:1-11
1 “I am the (A)true vine, and my Father is (B)the vinedresser. 2 (C)Every
branch in me that does not bear fruit (D)he takes away, and every branch that does bear
fruit he prunes, (E)that
it may bear more fruit. 3
Already (F)you
are clean (G)because
of the word that I have spoken to you. 4
(H)Abide (I)in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you
abide in me. 5
I am the vine; (J)you
are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that (K)bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do
nothing. 6 If anyone does
not abide in me (L)he
is thrown away like a branch and withers; (M)and the branches are gathered, thrown into the
fire, and burned. 7
If (N)you
abide in me, and my words abide in you, (O)ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for
you. 8 (P)By this my Father is glorified, that you (Q)bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 (R)As
the Father has loved me, (S)so
have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 (T)If
you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as (U)I have kept (V)my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, (W)that my joy may be in you, and that (X)your joy may be full (Biblegateway.com).
This
passage is basically saying to remain or abide in Jesus. Outside of Jesus there
is no life, no ability to glorify God, and only death by fire. Jesus is says
first that he abides in the father, and the father loves him as he loves us.
Therefore we should abide in Jesus as he abides in the father. Then he goes on
to say that out side of the branch there is no fruit produced. The branch is
the life source to the vine and the vine the life source to the fruit. Without
the life source there cannot be life. Jesus also states that if the vine does
not produce fruit the vinedresser or God will cut it off or prune it. So
basically the only way to live is to live by abiding in Jesus because he abides
in God, and the only way to produce fruit is through the branch (Jesus).
Without the branch there is no life, no fruit, and only a withered death.
The
first part of this text it makes me feel like I need to go “do” something for
God. After further analysis of the text it is quite the opposite. It means to
abide – it asks us to abide. So that begs the question what does abide mean?
According to Steve Hawthorne the Greek root word for abide literally means to
rest. In order to produce something you must “rest” in Jesus, who in turn rests
in the father. By abiding in Jesus we are bringing glory to the father and we
will produce much fruit. Outside of Jesus it is all a waste – nothing can
happen out side or apart from the branch. The vine cannot live with out its
life source. In fact if we live apart from Jesus the Bible says we will burn!
We will either be cut off and burn a fiery death.
How
do I abide? What does it look like to rest in Jesus. This is a complex answer
for me, and I often find my self in a whirlwind striving to make this happen,
which is actually the exact opposite. To rest in Jesus means to trust him. To
let him be God and me be child. It reminds me that am loved and his beloved,
and I am not running for acceptance, but running from acceptance. So when I
make decisions I am not making them based on my own understanding or abilities –
just hoping God approves – but I am making them with him. The word “abide”
reminds me to remember. He is with me, the Bible God says “I will never leave
you nor forsake you”. I so often forget that he will never leave me, not for a
second. What happens is I turn and face another direction and attempt to do it
myself, and realize I cannot do it on my own. I simply do not have enough, nor
do I have anything to pour out without God. Everything I have comes from him –
the branch – so how could I possibly live apart from him? Or even better why
would I want to? It seems so often that I hit a wall, get tired and fed up, and
then I remember … “Oh yeah...I’m not here to do it on my own…”. I was never
made to make it on my own. That’s why Jesus gave this example. It makes so much
sense when you look at it like this. If I were a vine I would die within hours
if I were cut off from the branch. I would not be able to get food, water, or
any of the nutrients I would need to live.
The
next part of the verse that also so often causes me to “strive” is producing
fruit. It is so tempting for me to switch gears into performance mode, and just
think about goals and objectives. Can I just say, what a miserable life, always
trying to please people who sometimes will never be satisfied and will
constantly find fault. Can I also say, what a miserable life always trying to
please God. Before you read that wrong let me explain. The truth (according to
the Bible) is that he DELIGHTS in us. We are the apple of his eye. We are so
loved by God. Why would God say over and over that he is delighted in us if he
was dissatisfied? Or wanted a better effort? You see we are already loved and
accepted by God – so life is not about trying to please a distant ethereal god
in heaven. It’s about first being loved and then over flowing and longing to
love Him back. For example, sharing the gospel. So many people think this is a
terrible idea…but if you are first loved by God and you truly believe it why on
earth would you not want to glorify your father? Why on earth would you not
want someone else to know how great he is? I don’t know about you but I love
God more than I am worried about inconveniencing someone at the grocery store. It’s
all about a heart of worship. I am so loved by God that I LONG and DESIRE to
love him. And by loving him I am obeying him, and his word. I’m pretty sure I
could go on and on about this topic because it is one that I just didn’t
understand for so long. Now that I have this understanding my whole lens has
shifted, how I feel loved by God, how I serve him, how I receive love from
others. Last example, think of your children – would you be heart broken if
they spent their whole lives trying desperately to please you and even though
you told them everyday you delighted in them – they worked themselves sick. That
happens more times than not with people who are trying to serve God. I would
say worship Him, because you were first loved.
I am the first to say I am NOT the best
at this. I know it in my head, but I am still understanding it in my heart.
Applying this to my life has been an absolute joy. When I do at times live life
at 100% peace, just “resting” in Jesus – I feel so secure. My feet are soundly
on the rock. I don’t feel anxious, or stressed, because I know I am taken care
of. I also don’t feel the need to strive or perform for anyone! Because I am
already delighted in. I choose to obey God because I love him – so I still do
what his word says, but it’s not from a place of pleasing, but a place of
worship. When I do share the gospel with someone or try to encourage someone at
work its so easy because I want them so badly to know the love of God. I am the
representative here, I am the vine that reaches my sphere of influence, and it
is my delight! I have to remain in the branch to live, to understand, and to be
able to overflow with the love of God.
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