Vines, Fruit, and a Gardener comes from John 15 in the New Testament. (This comes from the Good News Bible Translation)
"I am the real vine, and my Father is the gardener. He breaks off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit. You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you. Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me."
Nature is beautiful. It is the one place in this world that no matter what is going on, I can feel completely relaxed. I love just sitting in nature and dwelling in God's spirit. It is peaceful there. So when I began reading John 15, I thought of that peaceful feeling that I receive when I am outside dwelling in God.
I absolutely love how Jesus can speak to us in ways that we can connect with him. Of course, sometimes it takes a little knowledge of their culture at the time to be able to understand his words, but for the most part it speaks to us still today.
Alright, onto the actual passage now. The first thing that popped out to me when I began reading this passage was "I am the real vine." To me, this is just like Jesus saying, "I am the real Messiah." From Jesus' time on (and even before Jesus came I am sure) people testified that they were the Messiah. So when I read that "I am the real vine" it was a peaceful feeling knowing that I serve a God who IS the real vine.
The next thing that Jesus says is that God is his gardener. So even while Jesus was on this earth, God was still taking care of Him just as God takes care of us today. You see, even though Jesus was perfect, he still faced temptations just like everyone else. He still had to have his vines pruned & trimmed just like every other person who followed God. He states that God "broke off every branch in me that does not bear fruit." Every possible negative thing in Jesus' life that in some way would not glorify God, God got rid of it! It is the exact same for us too! If we ask for God to remove a sin, a burden, a pain in our life that is not bringing God glory or bring us closer to Him, God will completely remove that dead branch from our life!
With that said, we have to remember that blessings do not always come without pain. Just as the dead branches get cut off, the living branches also need to be pruned: "and he prunes every branch that does bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit" This pruning process can be painful. We have to remember that in every bad circumstance, there is a God that is helping us through it. It may feel painful, but in the end, God may bring us even more blessings than we had before!!!
The next verse says that "You have been made clean already by the teaching I have given you."
Basically, I look at this in the aspect that when we become saved, that is the cleaning process. There is no pain in becoming clean, it is refreshing and wonderful. Everyone loves that feeling of taking a warm long shower. You feel relieved, fresh, and joyful when you get out. That is what salvation is meant to feel like. All the things that had weighed you down before, made you anxious, nervous, or depressed, that is no longer your problem when you become saved. It becomes God's. He will take care of it for you. Now, in order for those problems to no longer harm you, God will have to cut off some branches and he WILL consistently prune you from now until the end of your days.
The last few verses all tie together.
"Remain united to me, and I will remain united to you. A branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it can do so only if it remains in the vine. In the same way you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me."
Jesus is saying that we cannot try to live life by ourselves. We need more than food, shelter, money, and all that this world says it can offer us. If we try surviving on the world alone, then we will die and shrivel up like a plant that is not watered. God specifically states that He will not leave us so long as we love and follow Him.
A branch cannot bear fruit by itself........
I love you all!
Good night and God Bless!
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