Jesus paints a beautiful picture of a life lived following Him. It is a life that produces much fruit. Hearing His words, we can almost picture the blossoming vines and vibrant fruit. One can only imagine how good it tastes.
God desires to see this fruit so much, He takes time to care for it.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already trimmed because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. 6 If you don’t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up. Those branches are gathered up, thrown into a fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit and in this way prove that you are my disciples. (John 15, CEB)
I hope you hear what Jesus is saying here. God is taking care of you! Now, be careful. We can be quick to hear these words and think, “Great! Now my life will go the way I want it to go.”
Keep in mind that our life is to glorify God, to shine a light that reflects His glory. We are after this kind of fruit. It is so much better than any fruit we could imagine on our own.
We need to trust the Gardner, the One who created it all.
My prayer for all of us is to be able to step into this new year willing to fully trust Him, to listen, and to allow Him to guide us.
Our primary job is to remain in Him, being present with Him.
The promise of doing this is much fruit in our lives. A fruit that is wonderful and a blessing to all!
Blessings,
Pastor Matt
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