I Am the Vine

The first few weeks of spring this year have been glorious. The dogwoods and azaleas have bloomed, planted seeds have sprouted, and the fig trees and grapes have begun to set fruit. The “greening” of creation restores my soul.

Part of my routine includes reading “The Wake-Up Call,” a daily on-line devotional published by Seedbed Ministries. I “borrowed” most of my own post today from Seedbed writer Dan Wilt. His Wake-Up Call post for April 13 is titled, “Abiding in the Vine,” and it’s a perfect meditation for a spring day. 

Mr. Wilt begins his article with the very familiar verses from the book of John regarding the vine and the branches:

“Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.’” (John 15:4–5)

Further thoughts by Dan Wilt:

In Psalm 80:7–11, the people of Israel are described as a vine, planted by God. In Isaiah 5:1–7, Israel is described as a vine that has produced grapes unfit for eating. In Jewish thought, Israel…is the vine, and the vineyard, of God. 

But then Jesus shows up and shakes up traditional Jewish thought by stating:

“‘I am the vine.’ His disciples pause. He is saying that He is the true Israel. He will carry God’s desires to fulfillment through loving obedience where Israel had failed. He is simultaneously saying something very personal to His followers—that if His disciples abide in Him, live in Him, stay in Him, and remain connected to Him as their source of life, they will bear good, sweet, and lasting fruit.”

“There are a few insights here for us. A branch is of the same plant as the vine. They are one. A branch is connected to, and is an expression of, the vine. The vine and branch participate in a shared life. A branch is fully integrated into the vine as its source of life, renewal, and replenishment. A branch of a grapevine bears fruit that is of the same ilk as the vine. They share the same DNA. The vine and the branch are intimately and purposefully joined.”

“And if a branch…ever decides it can live apart from its vine—we know how that story ends. A branch disconnected from a source of life withers, becomes brittle, and eventually dies.”

“In John 15:4–5, the word translated “remain” or “abide”—meno—is a word that also means ‘stay.’”

“Jesus is saying, ‘Stay in Me. We are connected; you are not designed to live apart from My presence and love.'”

“We as human beings can resist all we want; health waits on the other side of staying, remaining, and abiding in the source of Jesus. And when times get hard, and we want to look to other sources for love, for affirmation, for encouragement, for salvation—Jesus says, ‘Stay.’”

“Staying in Christ, not moving from Him, is a state of the heart renewed by consistent prayer, by worship, and by lingering in God’s Word and God’s presence. ‘As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. ‘Remain in My love’ means that we have the privilege of participating—fully—in the shared life between the Father and the Son, by the Holy Spirit.”

“Stay in Jesus. ‘Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love,’ goes the old hymn. Stay in union with Him—do whatever it takes. Your source will never fail you.”

Heavenly Father, may we continually meditate on the source of all creation and every blessing that we have. Help us to show others what it means to be a branch from Your vine. Amen.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come Thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise.

Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above,
Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love…

…Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be.
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.