The Vine and The Branch

"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, and I will 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." [John 15:1-4]

To be a sturdy Christian means we must stay in the word of God which is able to enrich our knowledge and enlighten our path. In the book of John, Lord likened Himself as a vine while we are the branch. That leads us to a tantalizing question: What does the vine mean and what is the main role of the vine itself? Moreover, If we separate ourselves from the vine, what will happen?

The Lord is the vine, as the bible said, means He is the source of everything we need. It includes our knowledge, strength, prosperity, and wisdom. Jesus taught clearly that if we remain in Him, or specifically in His word, we are more likely to bear a precious fruit. It means, by relying on God totally, we will be able to do an astounding and remarkable thing. For example, it is well-known that if we have a superb achievement or medal we are likely to produce a great project by relying on our own insight and experience. Nevertheless, are we willing to involve God within our project? Albeit we have achieved a brilliant completion, will we still recognize ourselves as a branch which exactly needs the word of God? Without God, perhaps, it is possible that we seem like a vigorous worker who are eager to toil in our workplace and create a marvelous product, even though it is temporary. Yes, we can do everything we wish and realize our vast ambition without involving God at all, but remember, that fruition is only temporary. We should be aware that by remaining in His word, we will derive a boundless knowledge which is able to develop our accomplishment. Which one do you choose: remain in His word and get a magnificent wisdom to nurture your accomplishment or being vain to use your own limited knowledge ?   

Moreover, if we, as a branch, decide to separate ourselves from the vine, what is the consequence? In accordance with the book of John, Jesus said that we, who do not remain in the vine, will be thrown out and burned. That rebuke means we will bear no fruit in our daily life, regardless how rough we have toiled to achieve a completion, we will produce nothing in our workplace, church, or even our family. Everything that we have attempted without involving God, those are miserably pointless. No matter how advanced we are in handling convoluted situation , how excessive source we have such as inner circle and fund , how brilliant we are in creating an outstanding idea, or what degree have you achieved for, one thing that we should emphasize : all of them are truly exactly fruitless and useless without involving God.  Therefore, we, as a branch, need an unfathomable source from the true vine, Jesus Christ, which is able to strengthen us to bear an abundant fruit for the glory of God. 

In summary, we should know that we are merely a branch which has a limited and inadequate might to overcome our perplexed situation or to foster our achievement. To live contentedly and blissfully, we need an inexhaustible source which comes from the real vine, Jesus Christ. Hence, take a decision to commit yourself to dwell continuously in the word of God. Involve The Lord in any situation we face off.