One of 'His' Branches

~~~ Acts of the Apostles 15:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 122 ~~~ John 15:1-8 ~~~

I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.

Have you ever been to a vineyard?
The vine and the branches are so intertwined
that you cannot tell one from the other.
There is an art to growing grapes.
It takes preparation.
The supports must be in place
 to prevent the vines from decaying on the ground.

Every vine grower wants to cultivate and produce the finest luxury grapes.
The finest grapes make the most exquisite wine.

A few years ago my husband and I
had the opportunity to visit Napa Valley.
We saw the branches and the twisted vines
stretching along the guide wires.

The vine grower must cut away the parts
 that are not going to produce fruit.
He then prunes the branches
that are healthy to produce the better quality fruit.

This is what Jesus is telling us about our spiritual life with him.
We must stay connected to him as closely as the vine
 and the branches in the vineyard.

It is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.
If we were to be that close to Jesus;
it would be hard to tell that we were not becoming a saint.
To become a saint would be equivalent to producing
 the most exquisite wine.

The more closely connected we remain to the Lord
 the more we will prosper and grow in his love.

The Father is the vine grower he knows
who has remained on the vine...who has remained close to Jesus.

There is no life if we are cut from the vine and fall to the ground.

Perhaps this 'pruning' Jesus speaks of
 is the essence of those hardships we read about yesterday.

If you are close to Jesus and you are bearing fruit
 then be prepared to be pruned.
For he tells us it is through the pruning
 that we come to bear fruit more abundantly.

His very words remain in our heart.
They are designed to prune off
 that which does not make us into one of his exquisite branches.

The vine and the branches are one just as the Father and the Son are one...
just as we must become one with him.

Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit...

The best way to bear much fruit is to became one of his faithful disciples,
even when the pruning shears cut into our heart.

How often Lord have I not understood your pruning?
How many times have I not seen your blessings?
Ask God to make you into one of his exquisite branches.
For with him all things are possible
and probable, but keep that last part to yourself. (wink,wink)

Close to him, I want to remain.
~~~Peace~~~