1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.
3 “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he abears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:1-5 (NASB)
As I approach Easter, this lesson always comes to mind. In fact, it is often on my mind…. and the Vanity License on my car…. “ABIDE IN”. Abide in… to dwell close to the One who gives us life… Jesus.
Jesus tells us that God the Father is the vinedresser.. the One who realizes we are not living up to our potential… not sharing the Gospel message… So, He takes us.. the branch into His hand and prunes us… He doesn’t cut us back totally… destroying us. He trims us back so the we will become stronger and so the grapes we bear will be juicy and sweet.
