Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches. But what type of type of branch are you? Are you a fruit bearing branch, or one that, although it has leaves and is attached to the vine, produces no fruit? This is scary question because Jesus says the branches that don’t bear fruit are cut off, allowed to wither, then are gathered and burned- a burning branch. I think it is safe to say that no one wants to be one of those branches. Right? We want to be a branch that bears fruit. Jesus says in verse 2, “every branch that does bear fruit he[his father, the vinedresser] prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” Jesus also says of these branches in verse 8 that they glorify his father and that they prove to be his disciples. This isn’t said of the burning branches, so I think it fair to say that they have not glorified God and have proven themselves not to be his disciples. (see 1 John 2:19) To be a part of the True Vine means to be a branch that bears fruit. But how do we do that? One of the reasons I love this passage of scripture so much is that Jesus clearly lines out what a disciple looks like and what we gain by being a fruit bearing branch.
If we want to be a branch that bears fruit we must do one thing, Abide. Abide means to remain, and in verses 4 and 5 Jesus says, “Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” If we abide in Jesus and he abides in us we WILL bear fruit. So there are two conditions to bearing fruit: abide in Jesus and have Jesus abide in you. We serve a God who is the definition of faithful. Hebrew 13:5 says “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” God will not leave us. Jesus will not forsake us. But are we as faithful as him? In verse 10 Jesus says that to abide in him means to obey him. We must be obedient to Jesus. And I think that the place we fail him the most is the place that is mentioned in the first part of Hebrew 13:5. “Keep you life free from the love of money and be content with what you have.” Ouch. Many times I have been convicted by the Spirit over my love of things. And I know I am not alone. I can see it all over the American Church. And I know that it isn’t new to us because God speaks about it so many times in scripture. Over and over again it says not to love money or the things of this world. They are passing away, they are like grass that withers and is burned. Not only are they fleeting, but they do not satisfy. We get what we think we desire; only to find ourselves wanting more. Our culture compounds the problem. We have the means of acquiring many possessions, and on top of that it is encouraged. But this same mentality is not promoted by scripture. In fact it is quite the opposite. We can not have the American Dream and Jesus. Jesus must be our dream. He is all there is. He is what satisfies. He is eternal and never fades. He is love and he promises that he will never leave us of forsake us. But how often do we forsake him, to pursue vain idols? We must stop. We must do what Hebrews 13:5 commands us to do and keep our life free from the love of money. If we don’t we are not obeying Jesus. And if we are not obeying, we are not abiding. And if we are not abiding, we are not bearing fruit. And we are not bearing fruit, we are burning. Don’t be a Burning Branch. Bear fruit that you may prove yourself to be a disciple and bring glory to God. Do so and the joy of Jesus Christ will be in you, and your joy will be full.
-Mitchell
If we want to be a branch that bears fruit we must do one thing, Abide. Abide means to remain, and in verses 4 and 5 Jesus says, “Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” If we abide in Jesus and he abides in us we WILL bear fruit. So there are two conditions to bearing fruit: abide in Jesus and have Jesus abide in you. We serve a God who is the definition of faithful. Hebrew 13:5 says “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” God will not leave us. Jesus will not forsake us. But are we as faithful as him? In verse 10 Jesus says that to abide in him means to obey him. We must be obedient to Jesus. And I think that the place we fail him the most is the place that is mentioned in the first part of Hebrew 13:5. “Keep you life free from the love of money and be content with what you have.” Ouch. Many times I have been convicted by the Spirit over my love of things. And I know I am not alone. I can see it all over the American Church. And I know that it isn’t new to us because God speaks about it so many times in scripture. Over and over again it says not to love money or the things of this world. They are passing away, they are like grass that withers and is burned. Not only are they fleeting, but they do not satisfy. We get what we think we desire; only to find ourselves wanting more. Our culture compounds the problem. We have the means of acquiring many possessions, and on top of that it is encouraged. But this same mentality is not promoted by scripture. In fact it is quite the opposite. We can not have the American Dream and Jesus. Jesus must be our dream. He is all there is. He is what satisfies. He is eternal and never fades. He is love and he promises that he will never leave us of forsake us. But how often do we forsake him, to pursue vain idols? We must stop. We must do what Hebrews 13:5 commands us to do and keep our life free from the love of money. If we don’t we are not obeying Jesus. And if we are not obeying, we are not abiding. And if we are not abiding, we are not bearing fruit. And we are not bearing fruit, we are burning. Don’t be a Burning Branch. Bear fruit that you may prove yourself to be a disciple and bring glory to God. Do so and the joy of Jesus Christ will be in you, and your joy will be full.
-Mitchell
