"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5How can a branch bear fruit without a vine to attach itself to? How can a branch bear leaves or flowers without the trunk of the tree nourishing it and giving it life? We cannot show the love of God if we are not connected with Him, if He is not flowing through us. If we do not abide in His love, we cannot be filled with this love. And without it, we can do nothing...so we are nothing.
The cherries are being picked this week in the valley - vibrant red, sweet & ready to stain the closest white shirt. Next will be the apricots, the plums, the nectarines and the peaches.
The vineyards are bursting with green but their fruit won't be ready until the fall. If we were to cut off these teeny tiny clusters from the vine now, it would be too soon, they would not be strong enough to last through the summer & become those full plump juicy grapes ready for the winepress in September.
So it happens with us & God. We attach ourselves to Him, feel His spirit flowing through us, and His love. We feel strong but we are still new. We cannot let go of Him and think we can make it on our own just because we had the nourishment from Him. Abiding in God is not something we can detach from & think that we can continue on as before. Or like those premature clusters of grapes, we will wither, we will shrink & eventually we will die.
He is our true vine and only when we are part of the vine will we gain our strength.
Another wonderful post. I think your blog is wonderful and a great blessing for those who read it. I hope more will read it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Beck. God is not only our help and strength, but He nourishes us, preparing us for his work. You're so right. We need to ABIDE in Him always or we'll wither.
ReplyDeleteHey, I just thought you'd want to know that you played a part in the Indonesian missionaries release. Check out my comment response on the Prayer and Praise post when you get a chance.
I'm off and running, my little guy starts a week of soccer camp in about thirty minutes!
Blessings today!
I love examples from nature that give us a picture of our relationship with God. This is a wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteI like to think, that perhaps, everything God made--all of nature--teaches us about God and our relationship with him. The lessons are there if we are observant.