Weather report from heaven: Sunny and bright with an abundance of light, and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “ 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
Insight: As we continue our series on Understanding The Times, today let’s consider in more detail the great hope we have as Christians because of the sufficiency, strength and power of Jesus Christ and the eternal nature of God’s Kingdom. We know everyone today is weary and heavy burdened with all that is going on in the world. People are riddled with anxiety and fear. Yesterday we looked at Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11: 28-30 for us to bring our weariness and our heavy burdens to Him in order for Him to grant us the rest and the relief we need. This scripture from above gives us great hope in reminding us that Jesus then provides all the energy and power we need to move forward in our lives to reach the destiny for which we were created simply through our connection to Him. As grapes grow on the branches via their connection to the vine, so do our lives produce abundance and growth simply through our connection to Jesus, who is the Vine of life. Grapes don’t struggle or strive to produce, it happens naturally just by them being attached.
That is such a great analogy for us as followers of Christ to remember as well. In a world that tells us constantly that we need to strive harder, work longer and reach higher, it is so nice to remember that we produce great outputs just by being connected to the Master Input in Jesus. He is the Vine and we are the branches. If we simply remain in Him we will bear much fruit. Not from striving or straining which only leads to fatigue, burnout, and illness but rather from the Divine Connection that leads to abundance and peace in all aspects of our life. Grapes are a great analogy to remind us of how we are doing in our connection to the Vine. If we are connected, we don’t need to toil or labor in order to produce fruit, just like the grapes flourish on the branch only for their connection to the vine. It happens naturally for us as well, as an expression of outgrowth of being connected to the Vine. He has the power we need to rescue us from our burdens and weariness, but it is impossible to manifest if we are cut off from Him. Stay connected my friends!
Prayer: Jesus, thank You that You are the Vine and we are the branches. Help us to remember that if we simply stay connected to You, we will produce good fruit. Apart from You, “we can do nothing,” as John 15:5 says.
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