The Vine and Relationships

On Friday night I had an encouragement for some friends out of John 15, and I think they are also great verses that highlight the Lord's focus on relationship with us.

John 15:1-8 NIV
[1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. [2] He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [3] You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [4] Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

[5] “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. [6] If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8] This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

I think its relatively impossible to read these verses and not understand that Jesus is talking about relationships. Remaining in, being connected to, drawing life from, speaking of connectedness. It is a great analogy and so true for us, that it is in connectedness, in relationship wth the Lord that we receive life and bear fruit.

Jesus also speaks of the deposit of His word, remaining in us. He says in John 6:63b... "The words I have spoken to you---they are full of the Spirit and life." His words bring us Spirit and life, and when they remain in us they will bear much fruit, and they will bring an alignment of our wills with His.

If we go back to the vine analogy, in a vine the life essence flows in the sap. The sap, which contains the nutrients and sugars to fuel growth of the vine and the fruit, is what Jesus is saying is the word He speaks to us, which brings life. As the sap flows, the fruit gets larger, the vine grows and develops more fruit, etc. This is only possible if relationship, or connectedness to the vine is established and maintained. The flow of sap in a vine must be constant, and ultimately must increase as the vine grows.

I like that Jesus used a vine for this analogy, for there is really no limit to how big a vine can get. If we were talking about a corn stalk, they only get so big and only produce one ear of corn, and then die. A vine continue to grow, produces fruit season after season, and only needs some small amount of external support (structure) to continue to grow and expand. A vine can produce tons of fruit, and the fruit can grow in unlikely places. This is such a great picture of the potential for our relationship with the Lord.

All of this is possible if we remain in Him, remain in relationship with Him, and allow His word to remain in us and bear fruit.