Author:  Danny Pierce

Monday, October 12, 2009

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15:4)

Back in the 18th-19th centuries, there was a popular theology in America called “deism.” Deists believed in God, though many had the idea that He was a hands-off creator, one none-too-concerned with the goings-on of people. In essence, God was a watchmaker who made and wound His watch, only to walk away and never pick it up again.

Most of us reading this devotional would obviously not fall into the deist camp. In fact, we often celebrate the fact that God cares enough to continue His involvement in our daily lives. But, though we acknowledge this fact, we often live as if it were not true.

Sure, God saves us. But what do we do after we’re saved? Many of us, if we’re honest, live as if it’s our turn to do the work. We have to get things together, try hard to live in a manner that pleases God and pull ourselves out of any holes we find ourselves in. We are, in a sense, post-salvation deists. God saves us, but it’s our job to live a holy life.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, Jesus says just the opposite in this passage. The key to bearing fruit in the Christian life is not trying to muster up all the strength we can to “do good.” The key is remaining where you belong- connected to the vine. This goes against the spirit of independence we so often celebrate. In the words of Charles Spurgeon, “this is common with us all—to wish to grow independent.” But there cannot be an independent branch. The branch must always be connected to the vine, otherwise it will not bear fruit.

Praise God that He is not the God of deist thought. He does not save us and leave us alone. We are not that watch, left to keep time on its own, barely registering an afterthought in the mind of our Maker. The Lord is intimately concerned with our lives, and gives us everything we need to live in holiness (2 Peter 1:3). The key is not to try harder; the key is to remain in the vine.

Lord, we’re thankful that You are not sitting back and waiting for us to get our lives together. We praise You that You not only call us to bear fruit, You make it possible by connecting us with the vine, Your Son Jesus. We repent of trying to remain independent from You and ask You to help us learn to be people who abide with You.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

I am the true vine… (John 15:1)

John 15 isn’t the first time in the Bible we see imagery of the vine. The vine is often used as an image of the people of God in the Old Testament (for example, Isaiah 5, Ezekiel 15, Psalm 80). Interestingly, the vine imagery of the Old Testament is generally negative- God’s people are not bearing fruit, they are being destroyed, etc.

What does this have to do with Jesus’ teaching in John 15? Notice that Jesus refers to Himself as the “true vine”- not the vine His followers remember from reading the Psalms and Prophets, but the perfect, fruitful vine. What the vine has failed to do, the true vine accomplishes. And not only does He accomplish what God’s people had always failed to do (and still fail to do), He shares that fruitfulness with those who are “in the vine.”

This is the glory of what has been called the “Incarnation,” that God became man in Jesus. God doesn’t discard His people (the vine), He reconstitutes His people around the true vine- Jesus. He became the vine, which had previously always born little fruit and suffered the ravages of destruction, and calls us to partake in His fruitfulness. Do you want to bear fruit? Then remain in the true vine, the One that bears fruit and empowers us to bear fruit as well.

Lord, we praise You that You have not cast us aside and rejected us forever. In fact, You’ve done the opposite- You sent Your Son, Jesus, to be the true vine and enable us to bear fruit like You’ve called us to. Help us to find our place and identity in Jesus, since He came and identified with us.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

He will give you another advocate… the Spirit of truth. …you will bear much fruit. (John 14:16-17, 15:5)

How exactly does remaining in the vine help us bear fruit? Is it simply acknowledging that Jesus is the vine and if we stay close to Him, we’ll be okay? Or is there something more to understanding this?

It’s not accidental that our passage here in John 15 immediately follows Jesus’ words on the Holy Spirit (14:15-31), and it doesn’t take long for Jesus to bring up the Holy Spirit again (15:26-16:15). For those who are in Christ, the Holy Spirit is “God’s empowering presence” (to use Gordon Fee’s phrase) given to us to enable us to live for Him. The Spirit of God is given to help us and be with us (14:16), to teach us and remind us of Christ’s teachings (14:26), and guide us (16:13). Oddly enough, by leaving this earth to be with the Father, Jesus helps us because He sends His Spirit to dwell with every believer (16:7).

Paul picks up the Spirit-fruit connection in the famous passage of Galatians 5:22-25. What a blessing! God not only commands us to bear fruit, He gives us the only means by which we can bear fruit- His Spirit. This is the gracious character of God. If remaining in the vine seems like a difficult concept, we need only remember that the Holy Spirit has been given to us to teach us what exactly that means. We don’t have to guess, we have to ask; and if we seek the Spirit’s guidance, we will bear fruit.

Father, thank You for giving us Your Spirit. We praise You that we are not left to guess or decode Your will. We pray with confidence that because You have given us Your Spirit, You will empower us to bear fruit for Your glory. Help us to know and do Your will.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

…and I in you… (John 15:4)

Jesus was no unrealistic optimist. He knew that rough roads lay ahead for His disciples, as we see later in John 17:6-19. Life as a Jesus-follower wasn’t (and isn’t) all pie-in-the-sky. It’s hard giving up your life to follow the One who gave up His. It’s hard saying ‘no’ to the world when what the world offers seems so enticing. And as Jesus’ most intimate disciples would find out in the coming years, remaining true to Jesus can even cost you your life.

That is why it is so crucial to understand that Jesus remains with us. The vine isn’t going anywhere. As difficult and as trying as life can be at times, Jesus is the constant. True, He isn’t physically with us any more than the Father is. But as we saw in yesterday’s devotional, He is present through the Holy Spirit. This is how Jesus can say, right before He ascended into heaven, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:20). John, in a later letter, writes, “This is how we know that we abide in Him and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13).

The sobering reality of the Christian life is that it is not always easy. We are not promised riches or physical comfort. We may be hated by our friends and family, rejected by those who we thought loved us. But we can take comfort in knowing that we are still connected to the vine- the ever-present, always-loving, perfectly-comforting Son of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Whether we feel it or not, He is always with us and always for us.

Father, praise You that we are not left alone! Praise You that You know our present struggles! Help us to know that You are our constant source of life amidst the hardships of life. Help us to know Your nearness and Your presence, even when we don’t sense it.

Friday, October 16, 2009

I am the vine, you are the branches. (John 15:5)

Does anyone else remember having to figure out analogies on tests back in high school? Let’s look at an example to see if we remember how they work:

Jesus : The Church :: Vine : Branches

In case we can’t remember how to read these, it goes like this: Jesus is to the Church as a vine is to its branches. Okay, this probably won’t show up on the SATs anytime soon, nor will it be written into the next best-selling theology textbook, but that doesn’t mean the point isn’t crucial for us to grasp.

We are not the vine, we are the branches. We do not give life to the vine; the vine gives life to us. The vine does not grow from us; we grow from the vine. We owe our existence and sustenance to the vine. We can dry up and be cut off, but the vine will continue growing.

So it is in our relationship with Christ. We participate with Christ in His work in this world. We share in His life and blessing. We live in communion with the Father because of Christ and the Holy Spirit. But all of this comes to us because we are not the vine, Jesus is. After all, didn’t Jesus say, “apart from Me you can do nothing?”

Say it with me: I am not the vine. Maybe say it one more time for good measure.

Lord, thank You for giving us the perfect and eternal life-giving source of Jesus Christ. We do not seek another vine, nor do we seek to be the vine ourselves. We proclaim that our life comes from You and You alone. Praise You for Your graciousness in allowing us to grow out from the vine.