ListenDaily - 02 June 2009: An unending buffet...
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, 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, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:1-8 NKJV (find any passage at www.Biblegateway.org)
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."
"Abide in Me..." Jesus says it again -- and we should hear it again. We should hear it more seriously, more deeply. When Jesus speaks, we should allow His words to penetrate us. After all, as He said in the verses just prior, it is His Word which cleanses us.
"...and I in you..." We teach our children about Jesus 'coming into our hearts' -- but do we hear this? Jesus lived, died, and rose again, so that He could abide in you!
"As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." OK, so let's talk about fruit. Paul wrote in Galatians 5 that the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Jesus did not specify these things, but surely they apply. So among other fruit that we may be missing out on, we cannot truly love without abiding in Him, and He is us. If we are not abiding, we cannot know persistent, recreating joy. Our peace will not last or reproduce. Our patience will will be tried until it breaks. We can only be so kind, only so good. Our faith will not grow. Our gentleness will fade with our limited patience. And we will not know complete self-control.
But if we abide...if we abide...these things grow as fruit grows! In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote that the gifts of the Spirit are meted out to different people, at different times, in differing circumstances. But the fruit is available to all! And when you take all of a piece of fruit, when you enjoy all the goodness, all the sweetness, all the nutrition -- look in your hand and see what is left -- the seed -- a seed to be planted so that an unknown amount of that fruit can be reproduced -- and an unknown number of others can receive it. If we would only...
...abide.
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Questions:
1. How does this perspective strike you? 2. Do you see this fruit? 3. How do you abide?
INTERESTING THOUGHTS:
"Anyone can tell how many seeds are in an apple;
no one knows how many apples are in a seed."
Unknown
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