Our Good Gardener prepares the soil for the best outcome of growth and health for the Roots, Vine and branches. Our wonderful Roots keeps the Vine attached to the soil so that everything that is good can flow through Him to the branches, who bear the Fruit. Our Mighty Vine upholds and sustains each branch so that we can receive all that goodness and grow to bear Fruit. We the branches are blessed beyond measure to be trusted to bear the Fruit.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Jn 15:5 NIV
Ahh the Fruit! It is how we can tell what type of tree we are looking at. If I see a tree with bananas growing on it, then I know I must be looking at a banana tree, right? But if I see apples, then it has to be an apple tree. Fruit helps us distinguish the tree that these fruit are growing from. It is the same with these branches and the Fruit they display. If we are more often displaying hatred, depression, anxiety, impatience, crudeness, vices, unfaithfulness, inflexibility or being out of control, then we are not showing this world that we belong to Christ! The Fruit of the Spirit, of course, is what I am talking about, check out Gal 5:22-23. In addition, any action that demonstrates a selfless love towards others is also part of this Fruit we are to “bear much” of for God’s Glory.
When someone tells us they are about to fall into sin, but we gently and courageously encourage them before they do anything, to stop and pray about the situation instead, we are bearing much Fruit for God. When we get an unexpected bill in the mail that seems to throw off our whole budget we worked so hard to generate, but we take a breath and trust God to help us get creative so we can still make ends meet, we are bearing much Fruit for God. When we get a flat tire and choose to remain at peace…when someone insults us but we choose to forgive and forget the pain they caused and treat them with respect anyway…when we seek to be a blessing to someone else just because…all these are easy ways to bear much Fruit, to the glory of God, our Good Gardener Who has already made all the resources we need to do any of that available to us. To the Glory of our Wonderful Roots Who keeps leading us to want to, and be able to, do all of that and more because He keeps us attached to the Vine. To the Glory of the Vine Who allows all the goodness we need to do any of that and more because He has freed us from that old sinful, selfish person. To the Glory of God we bear much Fruit when we remain with, remain in and live through Him. And our life? It gets more and more fulfilling.
One more time I say, without the Good Gardener Who makes sure the soil is rich, without the Roots Who keeps all good things flowing, without the Vine through Whom we receive the flow of the life-giving nutrients of the rich soil, without branches who choose to work with the Vine to remain IN Him, and by God’s Grace, without the Fruit we will automatically display, no one will know we belong to God Who has made us New Creations IN Christ, and this world will not change for the better.
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
June: 21- Lk 23:42; 22- Jas 4:7; 23- Pr 22:6; 24- Mt 5:3; 25- Jn 14:6
July: 26- Jas 2:19; 27- Dt 31:8; 28- Jn 14:15; 29- Jn 8:11
August: 30- Ro 8:1; 31- Pr 4:23; 32- Pr 18:21; 33- Ps 118:24; 34- 1Jn 4:4
September: 35- Mt 16:24; 36- Isa 53:6; 37- Ps 23:1-6
38- Heb 4:12
39- Jn 15:5
<>< Peace, Diane
