Stay Connected

      We have looked at the branch that was baring no fruit, and how the caretaker brings it to the place where it will bare more fruit.  Now Jesus gets to the end of this progression, the desired result, a branch that bares much fruit.  John 15:4-5 says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."  Here He gives us the key component for baring much fruit, it comes in the form of a command, "Abide in me".  

     We mustn't underestimate the value of just spending time with Him!  I am reminded of Jesus call to His disciples in Matthew 4:19, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."  His first call to those men, was a call just to be with Him.  To spend time with Him.  And as they spent time with Him, then something would happen that only He could do, they would be changed, they would produce fruit.  But that only comes with abiding in Him.  Shortly before Jesus was going to be killed, He took time to remind them of the very first thing that He had told them to do, and that was just be with Him.  We like to be busy doing things, trying to produce fruit on our own, but Jesus clearly tells us that without Him, without dwelling in Him, without His power and strength we cannot do or accomplish anything.  We cannot produce the fruit that He desires without Him  Are you trying to do things on your own?  Are you working to produce results, but are doing it in your own strength?  Your efforts will be futile.  We must abide in Him.  Stay connected to the vine and you will produce much fruit.

Cut It Back

     So far, the caretaker has just been concerned with the branch that is not bearing fruit.  He takes that branch and picks it up off the ground, and carefully washes the dirt and filth off of it, and ties it to the vine to keep it up off the ground.  He then turns his attention to the branch that is producing a little bit of fruit.

     John 15:2 says, "...and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."  He takes the branch that has begun to produce fruit and he purges it.  The word here for purge when referring to a vine, means to remove useless shoots.  A branch always favors new growth over producing fruit.  So if a branch is left unattended, it will continue to grow more an more shoots until it gets to the point that the shoots overtake and crowd out the areas where the grapes should grow.  The caretaker then takes out his shears and begins to cut away at the branch.

     If we are not careful, our lives can mirror what happens to this branch.  Often we assume that because we are busy, then we must be producing fruit.  But a lot of times, we fill up our lives and schedules and they begin to crowd out the fruit that God wants to produce in our lives.  So He gets out His shears and begins to cut out some things out of our lives.  This can be a painful process, but if we respond in the right way, then we will produce even more fruit for Him.  He may have to cut out some people out of our lives.  Maybe it is a hobby, or an activity that just takes up too much of our time.  It could be any number of things.  This process is similar to the runner that we find in Hebrews 12 that lays aside the weights that slow them down.  Are there some useless shoots in your life that are crowding out the fruit that God wants to produce in your life?  Ask Him to show you  what should go and what should stay.  His desire is not that we would produce a little fruit, but He wants us to produce much fruit!

Wash It Off

     Some branches grow too close to the ground, and get dirty so that they will not produce fruit.  The first thing a caretaker does to a branch that is not producing fruit is to pick up the branch.  The next thing that he does is wash it off.  John 15:3 says, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."  The caretaker picks up that branch that has gotten dirty and carefully washes the dirt off of it so that it can once again get the nutrients that it needs to begin producing fruit.

     At times in our lives we grow to close to this world, and we get ourselves dirty.  James tells us that pure religion is to keep ourselves unspotted from the world.  Rather than trying to see how close we can get to the Son, we try to see how close we can get to the world, and we find ourselves getting dirty.  I have four daughters that I love very much.  My girls give me hugs and love to play and climb on me like I'm their personal jungle gym.  Many times when they do this, they do not always have the cleanest of hands or mouths.  My close are constantly getting hand prints on them with food and dirt.  This happens because I have a close relationship with my girls, so often I find my clothes dirty with whatever they have been doing or eating that day.  And the same is true of us spiritually.  We grow so close to the ground, that they hand prints of this world show up all over us. 

     At one such point in David's life, he wrote one of the most loved Psalms that we have in our Bibles, Psalm 51.  He had grown too close to the world, and had gotten the dirt of adultery, pride, murder, and deceit all over himself.  He began by admitting his guilt.  Over and over again in this psalm, he mentions his sin, his transgressions, and his iniquities.  We too need to acknowledge the mistakes that we have made.  We need to be honest with God and with ourselves about the dirt that we have in our lives.  He cried out to God in verse number two, "Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."  He continues that thought in verse seven, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."  David said, "Lord, I have gotten dirty with the things of this world, and I need you to wash me."  Just like the caretaker lovingly washes off the dirty branch, God will wash off His dirty child.  Is there an area of your life that has grown too close to the world?  If there is, ask God to wash it off today.