Branching Out

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener…No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” John 15:1-6.

I must admit that over the past few years I have failed to cut back the branches on my rose bushes.  When I finally decided to work on them the branches of two rose bushes had grown into each other.  It was a mess and they were intertwined, making it difficult to see which branches belonged to which vine.  After much separating, cutting back and discarding the dead ones I was able to redefine which branch went with which vine. 

There is a similar principle in our spiritual lives.  There are two vines…the spiritual one in God and the earthly one in the flesh.  If we are not careful we will branch out towards the flesh vine and become intertwined with the world.  There will be a lack of true spiritual definition in our lives and testimonies.  Our branches will be dull, and lack the beautiful blooms intended for our testimonies.  As Christians we must choose the vine from which to branch off.  Will we lean towards the world in satisfaction and provisions or will we reside closely in the vine of the Spirit?  In our passage Jesus reminds us that He is the true vine, inferring that there will be false vines.  Our world beckons us to branch out in selfishness and entitlement.  Our world tempts us to depend on its resources instead of the provisions of our Father.  We are cautioned that if we branch out away from God we fail to bear the very fruit God intended for each of us.  Jesus said that we are recognized by our fruit, so I wonder whether our fruit bears the resemblance of the flesh or of discipleship.

 

‘This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples’ John 15:8.