John 15
I am the Vine
You are the branches
My Vineyard Surprise
I remember how surprised I was the first time I saw a vineyard. We were on a trip to Napa Valley California. Having been raised in the corn country of Indiana, I was prepared to see tall majestic grape vines like corn fields, waving in the breeze.
What we actually saw were short vines with branches carefully trellised across wires about waist high with huge clusters of grapes hanging from them. This is the picture Jesus wants us to see as he talks to the disciples about the secrets of the vine in John Chapter 15.
Secrets of the Vine
In Chapter 15:1-8, Jesus tells his disciples, “I am the True Vine, my Father is the gardener, and you are the branches.” The vine is not the long viny growth on the trellis – that’s us, the branches. The Vine is the trunk that grows out of the ground that supports and nourishes the branches. The gardener or vine dresser’s job is to coax the maximum amount of fruit possible from the plants.
Fruit represents good works - our thoughts, attitudes, and actions that God values because they glorify Him, not us. In his metaphor Jesus defines a progression of fruit: no fruit, some fruit, more fruit, much fruit, and finally, lasting fruit.
Jesus then describes the actions needed for us to produce fruit and to progress from no fruit to lasting fruit. As he talks to the disciples, he focuses on one truth – we branches cannot bear fruit on our own, but only by abiding in Jesus the Vine.
Discipline
Jesus first says that the Gardner will “take away or cut off” every branch that does not bear fruit. That sounds drastic, but since Jesus makes it clear that as branches we are eternally part of Him, a better translation of cut off is to “to take up or to clean up.” It is the image of the vinedresser bending over, lifting up, and cleaning off a bare branch that is not producing fruit because it is laying on the ground covered with mud.
This is a picture of how God disciplines us. Sin clogs our heart just like dirt and mud prevents branches on the ground from being productive. God often moves to correct us and discipline us; not to harm us, but to restore us and bring us back to Him when we are in sin. Otherwise we could remain stuck in non-fruit producing mode and be of no use to Him or ourselves.
Pruning
We next read that, when a branch bears some fruit, God will prune it to produce even more fruit. While discipline is about sin, pruning is about self. It is easy for us to get caught up in producing lots of leaves – success, more stuff, more fun. But just as grapevines can become so dense with leaves that the sun cannot reach the fruit-bearing areas, we may get stuck pursuing lesser priorities. So God often cuts away these non-essentials so we can produce more fruit.
As a grapevine matures it’s production capacity increases. But older branches must be pruned more to achieve maximum results. While pruning us as younger plants can focus on outward activities, mature pruning centers on deeper values and personal priorities. Here God often invites us to surrender something of great value to us so He can replace it with something of even greater value to Him.
Abiding
Finally, Jesus makes clear that the key to bearing more fruit is abiding in him as the Vine. In verse 5 Jesus tells us, “If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” Discipline and pruning can be painful as God proactively pursues us to change. Abiding is different because we initiate the action.
Abiding is deepening our connection in Jesus by prayer, Bible study, and being attuned to the call of the Holy Spirit. Abiding is always active never passive, because staying connected to our Lord and drawing nourishment from him takes effort, but it ultimately produces lasting fruit and personal growth.
Our Fruit Production
So where are you in the fruit bearing process? Do you sense you are being disciplined because of unconfessed sin in your life? Or are you being pruned and feel the need to give up some things to make more room for sunshine? Either way, we are called to abide in Jesus.
Abiding in and forming a deeper relationship with the True Vine will nourish you. It will help you see more clearly what fruit He wants to produce in your life. And it will empower you to trust the True Vine throughout the entire process.
Maranatha,
Andy
