“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
John 15:4-5 NASB
Grace Perspective:
To abide means to remain steadfast with someone. It’s a choice. In this verse, Jesus reminds us that we can choose to stay close to Him, trusting Him to sustain us, provide for us, shelter us, as a vine does to the fruit it produces. If we want to have good fruit, we need to remain close to the vine.
Jesus wants us to be fruitful, to share the truth of who He is to those around us. We are saved by grace to do good works, to be fruitful. (See Ephesians 2:10) However, the quality of fruit we produce is directly related to how close we are to the vine, Jesus. Spending time getting to know Christ, drawing close to Him through reading the Bible helps strengthen the fruit the Lord wants to develop in us.
Daily we have a choice to stay close to the Vine, so we produce the sweet fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentles, and self-control. (See Galatians 5:22-23) Or we can try to produce fruit on our own, which usually only produces fruit that is small, dry, and bitter.
Jesus invites us to graciously abide with Him so that He can produce good fruit for us to share with others. Abiding in Christ is the only way to see sweet fruit sprout and grow in our hearts so that those around us can enjoy His goodness.
A Touch of Grace:
Where do you abide in relation to Christ?
What fruit are you producing in your life?
Grace Application:
Abiding, staying close to the One who desires to give us all we need to bear good fruit. Sounds easy, doesn’t it. However, I struggle to stay attached to the vine, and often myself shriveled up and fruitless.
Life is so busy with work, caring for my parents, maintaining close relationships with my children and friends, and keeping up with a home. Many days it feels like my head hits the pillow and boom! It’s time to wake up and start all over. I often open my eyes and think, “How am I going to make it through the day?”
The answer is by choosing to spend time with Christ. Making Him the priority each day is how I find the strength to do the next thing. Genuinely connecting to the Lord by spending time in the Bible and prayer is the only way I survive each day.
The demands in life are high, but that doesn’t surprise God. He desires for all who are in Christ Jesus to abide in Him. Choosing to remain in Him gives us what we need to produce the fruit of love to pour out to those around us. The fruit of joy in Him, which gives us strength. The fruit of peace that guards our hearts and minds in Him. The fruit of patience when we want to be impatient with others. The fruit of kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that reflects Christ’s character within us. Choosing to abide in Christ, being dependent on Him, will yield fruit that will remain for all eternity.
Prayer:
Gracious Father, thank you for inviting me to abide in You. Jesus, You are the vine, and I am a branch. Forgive me, Lord, when I choose not to remain close to You and become brittle and fruitless. Father, grow in me a heart that remains attached to You so that I bear abundant fruit for You. In the precious name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen.
**Today, as you read this, I pray each of you will know for certain you are in Christ Jesus. If you have any doubt, please call out to God so all doubt may be erased. Today is a good day to be assured of salvation in Christ Jesus. If you have any questions, please contact me at graceisdawning@gmail.com**