Relevant Word

5 “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. 

-John 15:5

Consider This: When we abide in something we remain with it. Regardless of circumstances we refuse to abandon it. 

Relevance: Today, our biggest issue is that we abide in the wrong things. We will abide in people, jobs, and desires much longer than we will in God. We repeatedly go over and beyond for a friend or family member even after they have let us down. And we will sacrifice all of our time and energy trying to hang on to a job that will eventually let us go. Yet, when God asks us to sacrifice more for Him and remain more in Him, we suddenly do not have enough time. In this verse, Jesus makes it clear if we stay with Him, He will stay with us. It’s not a conditional relationship. Unfortunately, when we choose to abandon Him and become totally vested into other things, we can do nothing. If we’ve spent the last 10 years abiding in a relationship without abiding in Him, the relationship will fail. If we’ve spent countless hours abiding with an idea, without abiding in Him, the idea will remain in our head and never become anything more. He says when we abide in Him, we bear much fruit. But how can we bear fruit if we’re not connected to the vine? A branch away from the vine for too long certainly perishes. 

Application: As believers, it is time to reconnect to the vine. We must abide in God more than we abide in others. We cannot expect to be fruitful without the nourishment and stability of the Vine. If we must remain with anything or anyone it must be God. No one else can bear fruit but Him. So, if we’re not being fruitful in any areas of our lives, perhaps we have broken ourselves away from the vine. Let’s get back to the Vine while we still have time.