Tag Archives: bear much fruit

MOLLY AND ME – BONDED

Christian Life, ,

My little Molly is 7 plus years old, in dog years 49 plus. She’ll eventually catch up to me at 13 when wevwill both be 91 years old if we both live that long!

We have shared our lives together for so long that we are bonded in everything we do. We share our food, our treats, our recliner, and even our bed at night. We know each other so well that we can almost read one another’s thoughts. She speaks “dog” and I speak English, but we understand each other perfectly.

When I go out, she stays in her bed and refuses to do anything until I return. She goes into limbo without me.

If Molly outlives me, and that is quite possible since she can live to at least 16, I wonder what will happen to her. No one knows her like I do. No one will ever love her like I do. No one will understand and anticipate her needs like I do. If only she could go with me to my heavenly home!

What a wonderful picture of our union with Jesus! He made it possible, through His death and resurrection, for us to be bonded so closely to Him that He lives inside us by His Spirit.

What does Jesus want of us? Three things. Firstly, He wants us to remain in Him by remaining in His love. Such a close bond with Him allows His life to be revealed in us, producing the fruit of character and increase. The more we live out His life in us, the more like Him we grow.

‭John 15:4-5 NLT‬
[4] “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. [5] “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. …
[7] But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! …
[10] When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”

Secondly, He wants us to be so like Him that He is completely at home in us. When our lives are full of Jesus, thinking and acting as He does, He settles down in a comfortable environment where He, by His Spirit, dwells in us and has constant fellowship with us.

‭1 John 1:3 NLT‬
[3] “We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

Thirdly,He wants us to be with Him forever.

‭John 14:3 NLT‬
[3] “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

There can never be a bond closer than that.

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES

Christian Life, ,

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

In the Old Testament, Israel was called “the vine”. “Israel was a spreading vine” Hosea 10:1. God planted Israel in their own land as a choice vine, but He was disappointed with them because their fruit was bad.

Now Jesus tells His disciples that He is the vine, and they are the branches. Which part of the vine is Jesus? Is He the root, is He the stem or is He the branches? He says that He is the whole vine, and we are the branches. That means that we are part of Him. He wants us to bear fruit for Him, but we can’t bear fruit without being a part of the whole vine. The roots and the stem don’t bear the fruit; the branches do, but they cannot make grapes without the roots to take up the food and water from the soil and the stem to carry it to the branches.

The leaves on the branches are also important because they use the food and water from the soil and the sunlight and air to produce the energy which the vine needs to grow grapes. The leaves on the branches don’t have to work hard to gather sunlight or air. They just sit on the end of the twigs in the sun and air and the cells inside the leaves use the sunlight and carbon dioxide in the air together with the water and food from the soil to produce grapes.

If the branches are separated from the vine, they wither and die. They cannot bear fruit by themselves. They must be part of the vine. Jesus said that we are just like that. If we are to bear fruit for Him, we must live in union with Him. That means that we must submit to Him, trust in Him and obey Him. Our hearts must be filled with His word because it is His word that is the food that helps to produce the fruit.

What is the fruit that He wants us to bear for Him?  The Apostle Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. The first three teach us about our relationship with God. When we stay connected to Jesus, He fills our hearts with His love, joy, and peace because that is who He is. The next three show us how He wants us to treat people, with patience, kindness, and goodness because that is how He treats us. The last three, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control, tell us who we are. When we stay connected to Jesus, we learn to be in control of ourselves.  

Staying in His word and listening to Him is what we need for the fruit of the Spirit to grow in our lives. In this way, people will see how beautiful Jesus is.