John 15:5, “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 it is – the successful Christian life in a nutshell.
A vine is the nourishing part of a plant. It is where the branches get their supply of food and water so that they can produce fruit. Your life will only be fruitful and productive if you are receiving your strength and direction from the Lord. You need to be abiding in Him.
A branch that is not attached to the vine will shrivel up and certainly will not be productive. Jesus is telling you that He needs to be the controlling factor in your life. You need to be nourished and fed daily from the Scriptures. You need to communicate with Him throughout the day. There is a two way process going on here. One is that He supplies us with strength and direction. Secondly, we receive this strength and guidance and move out for Him (produce fruit).
Just a note – Jesus gives the flip side to this promise. “Without me ye can do nothing.” Wow, is that clear and to the point. Try to live in your own strength and you will accomplish ‘zero’. (That’s what ‘nothing’ means.) Don’t waste time and energy working for God in your own strength – it doesn’t work.
I think that all of us would like to come to the end of a day and look back and feel like we had accomplished something for God and eternity. This is what this verse is all about. God wants to use us and He wants our lives to be productive for Him. Jesus says abide in me and you will accomplish – MUCH – for God. What a great promise!
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