Vinedressing

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

1 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. 3 You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:1-17, NASB)

REFLECTIONS:

I’m sure most of you have read and/or heard a few studies and/or sermons on these verses where Jesus proclaims, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser" (verse 1) and we are His branches.  We can bear the fruit of the Lord when we abide in Christ and Christ aides in us. I don’t know how much I can add to the field of study and the number of devotions written on these verses except to share the three simple verses that lept off the page.

Three things:

The first one is the beginning part of verse 8: “By this My Father is glorified…” So, when we understand that in Christ we can and at times do bear fruit, for whom do we bear this fruit? If we edify (to build up—to provide a suitable dwelling place for God) God in all things we do, we bring glory to God, not to man.

Jesus is teaching that we can edify God by allowing ourselves to be cleaned or pruned by the ultimate vinedresser. When we are the pruned branches of the true vine of Christ we are provided with the utmost source of nourishment. It seems to me the fruit produced from these branches is of the sweetest variety, the richest taste, and if it were ours to eat – our taste buds just might explode! Oh but to taste the flavor of Christ…

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The second verse is from verse 11: “…that My joy may remain in you…” The joy Jesus speaks of is joy to the Nth power—to infinity and beyond. I don’t know if once again our human bodies can fully get this. There is no containing the joy of Jesus. Is that why some say it oozes out of us? In John 3:34 we are told the Spirit is given to us without measure.

           “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God;

                   for He gives the Spirit without measure.”  (John 3:34)

Ain’t it cool! God gives us more than what can fill us up!

The Aramaic word for joy is chedvâh to make glad, be joined, rejoice. The Greeks look at the same word as meaning the source of joy, when grace is recognized.

I think this is loaded. The joy Jesus speaks of in verse 11 leads us to be in a state of rejoicing and recognizing God as the source of grace and joy. Perfect!

God is the one who provides our joy and we have the honor of glorifying Him when we recognize Him and edify Him through fruit from our Christ cleansed branches.

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This section of John concludes with the last verse that stood out to me, as it does for many. Verse 17: “This I command you, that you love one another.” Verse 12 adds: “just as I have loved you.”

Jesus gives us THE example of how we are to do what He is commanding us to do… LOVE. Two things here: don’t you wish everyone that said to do something would and could give you THE example of how to do it? Second, I wish I could love like this—all the time.

PRAYER:

Vinedresser, when You prune me I know that You will hem me in and I have faith that You, Lord will nourish the next new growth in order to offer a better fruit for You.  May Your Holy Spirit abide in me and I in You. May the Spirit find a place that recognizes and edifies You. Please help me to follow Your lead everyday in everyway. Thank You, God, for giving us Jesus, the true vine.

WHO AM I?

I’m Gayle Norris and today, Thursday, I am with my mom, uncle and brother. We are digging into our family ancestry up in the north Georgia mountains and our link to the Chestatee River Diving Bell invented by Philologus H. Loud—what a name.  His name means “Lover of the Word” grateful that is also in my ancestry. <3