John 15:1-8
"This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
(JOHN 15:8)
(JOHN 15:8)
INSIGHT
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS THE MASTER GARDENER WHO KNOWS JUST HOW AND WHEN TO REMOVE OUR UNPRODUCTIVE BRANCHES. HE DOES ALL THINGS WELL.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
1 Samuel 13-14
Psalm 126
2 Corinthians 6-7
John 15:1-8
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[
Footnotes:
a]a. John 15:2 The Greek for prunes also means cleans.
with Fernando Ortega
Worship is something you do every day. The only question is the object of your worship. How can you become a person who makes God's glory your top priority? Fernando Ortega gives us his insights. so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will 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.
5 “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. 6 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. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
"Stop!" a voice cried behind me. "My plum tree!" I turned to see my customer running toward me. New to owning fruit trees, she didn't know that young trees need to be pruned. This strategic cutting makes for a stronger tree and better fruit. After some explanation, she reluctantly let me continue.
From time to time God cuts back the branches of our lives, for His glory and our good. But often we yell, "stop!" We have worked hard to grow those branches, and we want to keep them. Ultimately though, we must admit that God, in His wisdom, knows what will make us better people. He has a lesson for us to learn. Through the experience, we'll come to understand "remaining in Him" and what Jesus meant when He called Himself the vine and us the branches.
Pruning hurts. But it serves a purpose: "...every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:2b). And about that plum tree-eventually it bore more fruit than my customer knew what to do with!
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