So I’m finally writing about chapter 2!
This chapter begins with thinking of the things Jesus did not put in His hands that last night when he was delivering His message. He didn’t put money, talk about a fancy home or car that night. He was thinking instead of grapes.
He said “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit.” (John 15:1-2, 5, 8)
I close my eyes and picture what this may look like. I’ve been to a vineyard and see the branches of the grapevine on a trellis system growing upright and beautiful. However, there is more. A grapevine has a trunk like a tree and it grows straight up from the ground. It also has roots. The nature of the vines is to grow in every direction but up. The trellis system is used to guide the plants growth upwards. The grapevines then have canes or branches and from these branches grows the fruit or buds. The branches must be pruned in order to give more fruit.
Jesus is the vine. He is the trunk of the plant. God the Father is the vine-dresser. He is the keeper of the vineyard. The task of the vinedresser is to coax the most pounds of grapes possible. We are the branches that are responsible for bearing fruit and the focus of the vindresser. The branches are tied to a trellis in order to provide the maximum amount of sunshine, and to allow full access for tending.
Fruit. What is fruit? Fruits are good works; the best result. Good works represent a thought, attitude, or action of ours that God values because it glorifies Him. The fruit from our lives is how God receives His due honor on earth. How do we bear fruit? There are two kinds of fruit.
The first fruit is inner fruit. We bear inner fruit when we allow God to nurture in us a new, Christlike quality: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galationas 5:22) The second fruit is outward fruit. We bear outward fruit when we allow God to work through us to bring Him glory. This can be caring for a wido or bring soup to a sick friend. Fruit is our only permanent deposit in heaven. We are here to fulfill God’s dream (not ours) that we will bring Him glory through a remarkably abundant life.
Unfortunately, abundant life does not happen automatically. We, the branches, need to respond to the vinedresser. Yet, we do not all respond the same way. Each and every branch is different and each one will have produced a different sized crop.
There are four distinct levels of abundance:
Level 1: bearing no fruit
Level 2: bearing some fruit
Level 3: bearing more fruit
Level 4: bearing much fruit
Which level to you think God the Father wants for each and every one of us? Do you think He wants us to bear no fruit or just some fruit or maybe just a little more? No, he wants us to bear much fruit. He wants us to overflow with abundance in our lives. This is our destiny. We may start out our walk with God not bearing any fruit, but God tends to us and moves us from one level to the next until we are producing with abundance. How much fruit are you bearing today? How much fruit do you want to bear? Sadly, statistics show that nearly half of all the Christians bear little or no fruit. Another third bear some fruit. Only about 5 percent bear a lot of fruit.
If Jesus chose us for abundance, expects abundance, and created us to deeply desire it, how can we ever find fullfillment in a half-empty basket? We can’t, and we don’t have to.
Next we will be reading about three life-changing secrets from the vineyard or three keys to solving a problem. In order to experience abundant life we must know Jesus and apply His teachings. There is no other way. Are you stuck in years of turmoil or pain? Stayed tuned so you can understand how you can begin to flourish.
Coffee Time 