Fruitful in Jesus

‘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.

‘I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear a great deal fruit; for you can do nothing without me.’ (verses 4,5)

Read John 15:1-8

I’ve always been struck by the transformation that occurs in a vineyard. Visit in winter, after the pruning, and all you will see of the grape plant is a bare stem in the paddock’s bare soil, with a few similarly bare twigs running out from that stem. Return at the end of summer, and the bareness is replaced by rolling waves of greenery, abundantly decorated with the clusters of the ripening grapes.

That’s how Jesus pictures the relationship between himself and those who believe in him. As we remain united to him by faith, so our lives are fruitful and productive. The constant temptation, of course, is to think that we can go it alone, that we can handle the successes and failures of our life without succumbing to selfish pride or hopeless despair.

So Jesus lovingly reminds us that we cannot bear fruit unless we remain in him. Without his invigorating, inspirational love, we will not be able to live good and helpful lives in this world.

Loving Jesus, keep reminding me to stay attached to you, so that my life may be truly fruitful, just as yours was. Amen.

by John Vitale, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

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