“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.” (John 15: 4-5)
What kind of fruit? Sweet, sour, or bitter - and what color and shape I wonder? The fruit of love, compassion, wisdom, and even fun surely must be bright and burley. Maybe not; perhaps unimportant. Are you a soft fig, a glowing apple or a cluster of grapes?
One gets carried away, over analyzing, creating nonsense where there is only beauty: You are never alone when you abide in Me.
When Jesus insists, “apart from me you can do nothing,” He invites us to join in the chlorophyll fest of abiding with Him and all the other branches and leaves. What a green tangled mess!
Ever tied up grape vines? My dad did in Tacoma, Washington, on our old clothesline. Couldn’t keep up once they took off... and then the magic fruit appeared, grew and dangled in luscious clusters. And this in a cloudy climate where they said it couldn’t be done.
My dad knew things and though he’s more years gone than I want to count, I still think of him out there with his tangled vines, alternately laughing and cursing as he wound and tied.
Ain’t it the truth that growing and producing fruit is an arduous task, and that’s just the human part. The sun has to do its bit along with rain and under-earth water tables. A cosmic task, impossible to do alone. I believe this is why Jesus says, “remain in me and I in you,” if we want the doing of growth and fruit with our vine companions. Amen.
Sharon Keene
What kind of fruit? Sweet, sour, or bitter - and what color and shape I wonder? The fruit of love, compassion, wisdom, and even fun surely must be bright and burley. Maybe not; perhaps unimportant. Are you a soft fig, a glowing apple or a cluster of grapes?
One gets carried away, over analyzing, creating nonsense where there is only beauty: You are never alone when you abide in Me.
When Jesus insists, “apart from me you can do nothing,” He invites us to join in the chlorophyll fest of abiding with Him and all the other branches and leaves. What a green tangled mess!
Ever tied up grape vines? My dad did in Tacoma, Washington, on our old clothesline. Couldn’t keep up once they took off... and then the magic fruit appeared, grew and dangled in luscious clusters. And this in a cloudy climate where they said it couldn’t be done.
My dad knew things and though he’s more years gone than I want to count, I still think of him out there with his tangled vines, alternately laughing and cursing as he wound and tied.
Ain’t it the truth that growing and producing fruit is an arduous task, and that’s just the human part. The sun has to do its bit along with rain and under-earth water tables. A cosmic task, impossible to do alone. I believe this is why Jesus says, “remain in me and I in you,” if we want the doing of growth and fruit with our vine companions. Amen.
Sharon Keene
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