Simply Remain
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 15:5 (NIV)
How much do we rely on Christ? Is it when we are in trouble? When we must make a big decision? Is it when we’ve sinned big time? Maybe it’s when we come face-to-face with a medical diagnosis, or we’ve lost a loved one. Those account for a small portion of time. What about the remainder of our days?
Wasting time is something that we do well. We spend countless hours wishing and hoping; grumbling and complaining about negative things in our lives but only seek Him after we’ve gone ahead with our plans.
Just for a moment, imagine what your day might look like if you simply remained connected to Christ. Sarah Perry (Jesus First) shares her thoughts about this.
*****
Living in a self-reliant age, it is easy to forget how reliant we are on Christ and his work in us to produce spiritual fruit. Though we get to work and partner with Him, it is His life in ours that produces the fruit of His kingdom. We do not need to strive to earn His love, and we do not need to push ourselves to the breaking point to reap His harvest.
Jesus is our true vine. We are the branches. The Father prunes us to help us grow and produce fruit. Let’s not forget to remain in Christ. Have we gone our own way and added to the requirements He set forth? Do we have unrealistic standards of ourselves and others? Let’s take the opportunity to simplify today and get back to the main goal: to remain connected to Christ.
*****
We cannot prune ourselves! I want to remain connected but sometimes that doesn’t fit in well with my plans. My thinking gets me into precarious situations. And the pruning begins! When this happens, I stop, take a sacred pause, and weigh the cost of being self-reliant. Am I letting Him be the vine or am I chasing that position?
Perhaps we should change our daily goal to simply remain.
Jesus, thank You for the work You do in the world and in my life. I trust You to produce kingdom fruit in my life as I learn to rest in You. When pruning comes, may I simply remain and trust Your process. AMEN.