“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)
The key to a fruitful life and ministry is
not activism but abiding. It is not incessant
activity but prayer. Unless we move
from autonomy to obedience, from independence to dependence, and from control
to surrender we can never hope to bear the fruit that Jesus designed us to
bear—that only comes by abiding.
And abiding is not as much about trying,
as it is about joining. It is being joined
to the very life of God in a profoundly intimate way. It is allowing the life of God to flow in and
then through us. Thus, it is not
something we can produce or manufacture, but something that must be grown
organically.
Lord Jesus, you are the vine, and we are the branches, never let us forget that. Forgive us when we try to manufacture and
produce what can only be grown by abiding in you. Help us to learn how to do that. Amen.
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