Abide in Me “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 (NKJV)These words of Jesus contain a true treasure. Jesus tells us the secret to a fruitful Christian life: “Abide in Me.” Abide means to dwell with Him and live our lives on earth close to Him every moment of every day.
He illustrates this closeness with the image of a vine and its branches. Have you ever seen grapes growing? A strong vine grows up out of the earth, and then branches spread out in all directions. Large clusters of grapes hang from the branches. The fruit can be so plentiful and heavy that the branches must grow on a frame or trellis for support until the fruit is ripe for harvest.
What would happen to the branches if we went along with a pruning shears and cut them? They would begin to shrivel up and die. Could they produce grapes? No, in fact, if there were grapes on the branch when it was cut, the grapes would wither. There would be no fruit worth eating.
The branches cannot grow, cannot produce fruit, unless they remain connected to the vine. Jesus wants us to understand how important it is for us to stay closely connected to Him. He said that if we abide or remain in Him, we will bear much fruit.
I want to live a victorious Christian life, don’t you? Then I must learn to abide in Christ. I want the fruit of the Spirit to be evident in my life. I must abide in Christ. I hope there is a harvest of good fruit in my life, good works and deeds that have eternal value. That will only happen if I abide in Christ, for Jesus also tells us, “without Me you can do nothing”.
Nothing. Imagine a grape vine that never produced any fruit! What good is it? Jesus said we would produce no fruit – nothing - unless we stay connected to Him and live every day of our lives in Him. He did not say we could produce some fruit if we just come to Him once in the while. “Come to me once a week at church and you can do some things.” No. He said, “Abide in Me and you’ll bear much fruit; but without Me you can do nothing.”
How do we abide in Him? Remember the word picture Jesus gave us; the sturdy vine and the branches must stay connected and close together. We stay close to Jesus through prayer, praise and worship, and reading His word. In the quiet of our heart, we can go to Him frequently throughout the day. Reading the Bible regularly keeps His word in our heart and mind. These are the ways we abide in Him.
I like to remember how Jesus welcomed the children. He reached out his arms and gathered them on His lap. I can picture Him hugging them close to Himself. He loved them! He loves you. He wants you in prayer to crawl into his lap and tell Him what is on your mind and in your heart. Through His Holy Spirit, He will guide you, comfort you, and empower you to bear much fruit.
Learn early in life to abide in Him and you will experience the joy of His presence, the love He has for you, and the power of a fruitful life.
Object Lesson: Show the girls a large cluster of grapes as you read the second paragraph. Set them, perhaps with other fruit or more grapes, into a small basket so it overflows with fruit. As you read the section that tells how we can produce nothing without the Lord, remove the fruit and show the girls the empty basket. This illustrates how empty life is without the Lord and how little fruit of eternal value we can produce without Him.
Copyright, 2001, 2009, Laurie Latour.
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