Alive in Him

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.  If anyone does not remain in Me, he is 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 given you.  This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourself to be My disciples.

Have you ever thought about this verse?  I love that God’s Word gives us examples from our daily lives that help teach spiritual Truth.  When we ponder and visualize the verses, asking God for a spirit of wisdom and understanding, the scriptures come alive, truly teaching us! 

I’m reminded of what my kids wondered when I took our “real” Christmas tree to the curb on recycling day.  They asked why we didn’t just plant the beautiful tree in the back yard.  I explained that although the tree still looked green and pretty, it was dead.  It had been cut away from “the vine”- or it’s roots- where it gets its nutrients.  I explained that the tree wouldn’t grow anymore, no matter how rich the soil was.  It was only good to be “picked up, thrown into the fire and burned,” or in our case, mulched.  The tree needs to remain in the vine to have life.

We need to remain in our Vine (Jesus) to have life.  If we are abiding in our intimate relationship with Him, we will bear much fruit.  To be fruitful, flowering, vibrant, ALIVE, we must be connected to the Source of Life….Jesus.  We must be drawing on Him to sustain us, to nourish us, to make us flourish.  When we don’t, we will wither.

I can’t rely on myself.  I can’t do things in “Tracy strength.”  I must depend on Him.  I must abide in Him.

When I don’t, I wither.

I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers for my birthday that looked something like this.

Beautiful.

But, they weren’t connected to the vine.  They were cut away.  And, still they remained vibrant, lovely, pleasing…..

Not one week.

Not two weeks.

Not three weeks.

But, SIX weeks they remained gorgeous.

But, eventually, they looked like this. 

Eventually, they withered.  I had to throw them away. 

 Our relationship with Jesus is the same way.  When I don’t remain in Him, when I don’t seek after Him with all my heart, when I am depending on myself instead of Him, when my RELATIONSHIP with Him is not healthy, I will wither.

Like the flowers, I may stay beautiful for a while.  I may be “OK” for a week….or six weeks….or a year.  But, eventually, I will wither.  Jesus said in verse 4, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.”  I can’t bear fruit on my own.  I must stay connected to Him.  He is my source.

Lord, help me to always turn to You as my Source.  I want to remain, abide, flow in You and I know then that Your Life flows into me, allowing me to bear fruit.  I know when I am disconnected from You I wither.  Fill my heart with desire for You, O God!

Abiding in Him,

Tracy

Please visit me at my personal blog,

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