To Abide is Not Just an Aside
The weather had warmed up quite a bit this spring and it was time to clean up the property from the winter. I was not the only one taking advantage of this warm day as our neighbor to the north was out working as well. We live on a partially wooded lot which is wonderful in many respects but presents a considerable amount of work to keep it up. Our neighbors all around us keep meticulously manicured yards, while we manage to merely keep ours mowed (most of the time). I guess you could say we’re more low-maintenance yard people living on a higher-maintenance plot of land.
I had just completed mowing and was edging around our landscaping when I noticed that one of our bushes looked partially dead. I then looked to the others of the same species and noticed the same thing.
December of 2022 was an unusual one for the southeastern United States as many areas experienced abnormally low temperatures for consecutive days. Where we live, in Florence, MS, the average daytime high in December is 60 degrees. During this period in 2022, however, we had three consecutive days of bitter cold (for us) weather. I suspected that might have had something to do with the condition of our bushes.
I went over to one of our neighbors, the one who was also working, and the one who also has a meticulously manicured yard and landscaping, and asked her if she might take a moment and look at the bushes with me. She confirmed my suspicion and shared that they had several plants and bushes that experienced the same trauma. However, she went on to say that all these bushes needed was pruning and they would likely come back just fine. She began scratching the branches with her fingernail to detect where the color transitioned from brown to green. She then instructed me to prune back the branches to that point where there is green.
My wife and I did just what our neighbor instructed and within about 8 weeks our bushes had grown back healthier and stronger than before!
Scripture
Look with me at John 15:1-11. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 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. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Points to Ponder
· I have always appreciated the fact that Jesus asks of us only what he has already done and/or made provision for. He invites us to be in the vine as he is in the father; we are to obey his commands just as he obeyed the commands of the Father. He experienced the love of the Father and has extended that same love to us. The Lord Jesus must have so impressed the apostle Paul with this characteristic of the kingdom such that he would write, “follow me as I follow Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1). We would do well to embody this same paradigm with those we are influencing for Christ.
· As I was developing this devotional, I heard a quote from Bill Johnson, senior leader of Bethel Church in Redding. He said, “notice that the vinedresser rewards growth by pruning.” If you’re like me, you might tend to associate pruning with discipline or even punishment. Jesus says that the Father finds every branch bearing fruit and proceeds to prune them so that they will bear even more fruit! Our pruning of those bushes was an attempt at preservation; God’s pruning of fruitful branches is an act of promotion.
· Notice with me that Jesus states that if we remain in him AND he in us, we will bear much fruit. We must stay connected to the vine; that’s remaining in him. The Greek word rendered in English as, “remain,” means to continually place oneself. So, by extension, I continually place myself in him and continually give his Word place in my life. That is the culture most conducive to cultivating much fruit.
· I love the progression articulated in the last portion of this passage. Jesus encourages us to remain in his love. He goes on to instruct that keeping his commands is the mode to remaining in his love. The motivation of our obedience is to remain in his provision of love, not earn it. Too often we are susceptible to a lie that God’s love is conditional upon our obedience. Jesus finally shares that his reason for sharing all of this is that HIS joy made be in us and so that OUR joy may be complete.
41 Cents Application
This week let’s allow those four coins to remind us continually placing ourselves in him and continually placing his Word remaining in us. Choose four passages of scripture to memorize; write them on a card or enter them in your phone. Throughout the day, pull out that card or your phone and rehearse the scriptures as you work toward memorization. Look for those opportunities that the Lord highlights to you to apply those scriptures in your own life and to share them as encouragement to others. His Word is living and active! Each time you rehearse the scripture, transfer a coin. By the end of the week, let’s aim to have these four passages committed to memory.
Prayer
Father, you are the vinedresser who intends your creation to be fruitful. You set in motion the paradigm of fruitfulness and multiplication. We recognize that multiplication only comes through our remaining in the vine. Jesus you are the vine. We intentionally place ourselves in you. We intentionally place your Word in us. Holy Spirit, please help us to hide the Word of God in our hearts this week. In the name of Jesus, who’s joy will be in us so that our joy may be made complete, AMEN!