Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
October 20, 2021
Read John 15:1-5
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already trimmed because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can’t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can’t produce fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything.
Good Morning! I am the vine; you are the branches.
For those of us who like to garden, this is teaching that we can understand. I remember one of the first times that as a young married couple, we raised our first garden. We were very meticulous about preparing the soil and tending to our plants as they started growing. Our tomato plants were green and growing so fast that it seemed they added more leaves overnight.
As beautiful and strong as the plants were, we had very few blooms and those weren’t producing any tomatoes. After talking to family and friends, we determined that our plants were putting all of their energy into the foliage, so no fruit was developing. It was hard to prune away beautiful parts of our plants because they looked so good, but when we did we started seeing the “fruit” of our labor. Baby tomatoes suddenly filled our vines.
As Jesus teaches us in this passage, our relationship with God is like this. Jesus is the vine, strong and healthy, and we are the branches. Jesus is there to support us as we learn and grow through reading the Bible, attending church, and spending time nurturing our relationship with God through prayer and meditation.
All of these are the fertilizer to allow our growth, but at some point it is time to take all we have learned and produce fruit. What is this fruit that we must produce? Our service to others and gathering others to Christ is the fruit that must come from our branches. We are called by God to service, so if we are not producing fruit, eventually our branches will be pruned and we will wither and die. I am the vine, And you are the branches, Live in me, And you will never die.
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. May we never lose sight of our calling to serve you. We know that through you everything is possible. May we be fruitful and multiply, so that all may come to know Christ. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Jesus is our vine to which we are connected.
How are you producing fruit? Pastor Liz
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