“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.” Jn 15:4
It’s said that
the hardest mission is sub-mission to God. The world sees submission as
surrender or humiliation and defeat, relenting to another’s power over you is
often deeply resented. Yet for the
Christian there is a great irony and paradox of the Christian faith; submission
is the beginning steps of a victorious life in Christ. This is achieved by our
ability and willingness to see and acknowledge Christ great love for us and
convicts our heart that leads us to repentance (Rom 2:4). By this effort we are able to turn over our
desires, passions, goals, dreams, possessions and priorities for His will in
our life. It starts with our submission
to a greater calling towards others and not our self, but what we selfishly
hold onto offers nothing to the eternal kingdom of God. The grapevine is a single vine that supports
numerous branches and bears many grapes. In the O.T. grapes symbolized Israel's
fruitfulness in doing God's work on the earth (Psa 80:8;
Isa 5:1-7; Eze 19:10-14).
In the Passover meal, the fruit of the vine symbolized God's goodness to his
people. Christ is the vine, and God is
the gardener who cares for the branches to make them fruitful. The branches are
all those who claim to be followers of Christ. The fruitful branches are those who
abide in a living union with Christ. But those who become unproductive—those
who turn from abiding in Christ by turning to the world—will be pruned and separated
from the vine and die and become fruitless.
Those
who trust in self must abide in the results of self.
HSAY…Todd
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