The Vine

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." John 15:1-4

These verses are powerful verses and can teach us several things.

1. Absolute dependence on the Lord.
The branch has absolutely nothing to offer and depends on the vine for every thing.The vine has to do the work to send its nourishment to the branches in order to produce fruit. In our lives we must have absolute dependence on God in order for us to enjoy the fruit.

2. Deep Restfulness
The branches have not a care in the world. Each branch simply rests on the vine. When seasons change it does not worry because the vine will produce the nourishment so the branches can bear fruit. When the heat goes up, it trusts that the vine will provide it moisture. It simply rests in the Lord. We on the other hand try to depend so much on Christ, but we worry about that absolute dependence. It is hard for us to surrender in his deep restfulness when we are used to depending on our Self's to do the work.

3. Much Fruitfulness
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser", Here we see how God watches over the relationship between Jesus Christ and the us the branches. It is only through the power of God through Jesus Christ that we bear fruit.

4. Close Communion
Just like the branches on the vine, we must abide in Christ during every season and every minute of every day. As we see the branches on the vine every day throughout the year, so too our relationship with Jesus Christ should be something that is every day. We must have time or make time to spend with the Lord on a daily basis so that we may gain that sweet nutrient, the Word, so that we may continue to grow and bear much fruit.

5. Absolute Surrender
The branches of a grapevine cannot one day say, "This season I will bear peaches or oranges." The branch is utterly and entirely given up to the vine. The vine can give as much or as little fruit as it chooses. The branch is simply at the disposal of the vine and the vine can do with it what it likes. This is probably the most difficult areas, and it was for me as well. We must not what Christ did in this world. When Christ was ministering, He always stated that he was about his Father's business. Christ was here to do nothing else but seek his Father's pleasure. So what do we need to do? We need to be about the business of Christ and surrender completely to seek the pleasure of Christ.

So as you can see there is much more in these 4 verses than we think or may have seen applicable in our lives. We must humble ourselves before Christ and realize that we are nothing but branches. Even if you consider yourself a weak fruit bearing branch that is distant from Jesus, not living the way you should, remember what he said,"I am the Vine". He will receive you and nourish you back to health, he will strengthen you. He will fill you with His Holy Spirit. Remember, he became man surrendered all to die for our sins and gave himself entirely to us. Let us come and surrender ourselves entirely to be his.