This one word makes ALL the difference
In John 15 Jesus talks about the vine and the branches. This is a popular passage, but most of the time we brush over one vital keyword. Jesus says he is the true vine and we are the branches. That word "true" hyperlinks into who God is. God is spirit and truth (John 4:24).
Jesus said in the prior chapter of John 14 that he is The Way, The Truth, and The Life and no one comes to the Father except through him. Here in chapter 15 he teaches us about being his followers by keeping ourselves attached to him as our source of life. That's what a vine is for the branches-- the source of life. Let's look at this just a little bit deeper.
Vs1 Jesus said he is the true vine. This means there are other vines we could latch onto and draw some sort of life from, or so it seems, but eventually those vines will cut us off from life.
Those vines don’t produce the fruit.
Vs2 Those who don’t produce fruit, the Father, as the Gardener (see Genesis 1), cuts them off.
God only wants fruit bearing followers attached to his vine.
Vs5 Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. Without him we have no life.
I'd like to underscore the importance of how Jesus said he is the true vine. He is our true source of life. He wants us to trust God completely, be led by God’s Spirit everyday, everywhere, and teach God’s Kingdom to all who will listen.
We must keep in mind, the mission of the church is not to host services. The mission is to affect life change and lead people to understand how to follow Jesus. The mission of the church is to connect more people to the true vine.
I hope this encourages you to lean into who Jesus is and reinforce the purpose he gave you in how we are to live our life as Christians.
Remember, I'm here for you when you have questions, need a listening ear, and would like a prayer partner.
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