Hang In There

“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.”
John 15:5

I really like the imagery of John 15 – Christ being the Vine and we believers the branches. The New International Version of the Bible uses the word: remain, while the New King James Version uses the word; abide – both of these words come from the Greek Meno. The richness of this word perhaps does best to describe this idea of remaining or abiding. One concordance I looked at divided the meaning into three areas: place, time and condition.

Place: Remain, abide – to sojourn, tarry – to continue to be present – to be held, kept, continually.

Time: To continue to be, not perish, to last and endure. Of persons, to survive, live

Condition: to remain as one, not to become another or different, to wait for, await one.

We are to become like Christ and we must live by Christ’s example – the way to do this is to stay near, stay connected. Branches - whether they are on a grape vine or a fruit tree are nothing without the vine or trunk. It is while so close, so connected that they are nourished and watered and can produce fruit.

For me abiding or remaining in Christ – is to be close enough to see how the root grows, to learn from the root how to grow in a way that reflects the root. To be connected in a permanent way so that I am nourished, renewed, strengthened and at times pruned so that I can continue be a reflection of the root. This means spending time among the other branches – working and learning together - just us and the Lord. It also means spending time just the branch and the vine – just me and the Lord so that I can drink deeply, so that my connection to the root can be strengthened. The result of being in the vine – of being in Christ should be the fruitfulness of my obedience to Him and my life being transformed into His image.

This week, spend time letting your life become intertwined with the Vine that is Jesus – remain, abide, meno. The fruit you produce as a result will change you and may change the world around you.

A prayer
Father – Thank you that you desire for us to tarry with you, to be deeply connected to You always. Thank you for those times when you “prune” us even though it may not be pleasant, it will make us more fruitful. As the branches may we more fully reflect the root that is Jesus. It is by His name we pray. Amen.