I am the Vine

John 15:5 – I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

The vine is like the trunk of tree – it is the part that connects with the earth, that gets the water and the food and distributes it to the branches and leaves. It is the part that keeps it upright and strong. When the vine is dead, the branches die also. The branches grow from the vine and new branches gets pruned and twisted to grow in the way the vignerons need it to, to produce the best, highest quality grapes.

The vigneron – or husbandman – is Father God. Jesus, the son, is the vine and we are the branches. Jesus was pruned and twisted while in human form on earth, enduring unimaginable torture, to be purified of OUR sins. A vine, once established, does not get pruned. The branches gets pruned. And it only bears good fruit when it is pruned hard.

We get sustenance, life, when we stay in Jesus. We grow well, producing good fruit, when the Father prunes us. Unlike an actual grapevine where the branches can’t exactly choose for themselves to stay or to go, we have that ability, that privilege, to choose to stay connected to Jesus, or not. The most merciful thing about God, is that He understands us and even when we do choose to go our own way and leave Him, He waits for us to come back. And when we do, He greets us with open arms! (Luke 15:11-32)

We get angry with God when things get hard, and then we turn our back on Him, decide to do our own thing, ’cause let’s face it: God isn’t doing anything to better our lives, now is He? And when things get worse, as they surely will, we can’t understand why God feels so far… We turned our backs on Him, it’s we who need to turn back to Him. He didn’t leave us, He’s still waiting for us to turn back to Him. He will never force Himself on you, He will never coerce you into choosing Him – you have to choose Him because YOU choose Him.

And when you turn back, He’s waiting for you. He will embrace you and hold you and keep you. But He will not make life “easier”, He will not prevent hardships, He is not going to give you that Ferrari and three storey mansion (He’s not against wealth, but making you rich is not His job or priority or prerogative). Daniel’s friends still had to go through the fire!! He was with them IN the fire, and the fire did not burn them, but they had to go through it. Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den – he wasn’t magically prevented from that. But he was magically – rather, miraculously – saved from the lions. But he had to go through it.

When you remain ROOTED in Jesus, you will get pruned by the Father. But you will be safe and nourished and protected. Bad things will still happen to you… On this earth, that is inevitable. The devil will attack you. You will suffer loss, sadness, heartache… Your car will still break down. Your geyser will still burst. You will still forget your purse at home which you only realise at the till… God doesn’t wish bad things on you. But He uses it to teach you. He allows it, so you can learn and grow and become strong. How you experience these setbacks changes, when you are IN Him.

When His power flows through you, you can do anything – through Christ who strengthens you (Phil 4:13).