I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 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 15:5-15

Devotion

When I was growing up, I loved helping my dad in the yard. We would always tag-team projects like mowing the grass, raking up leaves, putting in new fences, retaining walls, French drains, etc. There was always something to do, but there was certainly no task greater than our yearly trimming of branches each fall. Living the majority of my life in Oklahoma, I’ve become accustomed to seeing (and smelling) Bradford Pear trees. My parents have several of these trees in their yard, and after experiencing the great ice storm of 2007, it became “tradition” to go trim back the branches just about every year. I would often think to myself, “Is this really necessary?” Dad explained to me the branches could only handle so much weight during ice storms and would break off, potentially causing worse damage to homes. I’ve seen a few ice storms in my life, so I know the value in trimming back the branches.

In John 15, we get this metaphor of a vine and branches. Jesus teaches his disciples that they can still draw strength from him even when they aren’t in the same space. Abiding in Jesus is not a physical practice but, rather, a spiritual practice. Jesus’ audience at the time understood the power of pruning. Gardeners had to prune the branches (cut off/trim little sections) to ensure healthy and abundant fruit. When carefully pruned and protected, these plants produced sweet grapes, fatty olives, and juicy tomatoes. When left unpruned, the vines crawled everywhere and killed everything. In Jesus’ teaching, God is the gardener, or the “vinedresser.” His role is to make the branches more fruitful. God prunes you as well! Why? To ensure that you produce healthy and abundant fruit. God is a good gardener. In this passage, Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. Which means that Jesus is our source of life, and we are the branches that produce fruit. We bear fruit by staying connected to the vine. Plain and simple. There is no other way.

He is the true vine, and we are the branches. Simple, yet profound. A branch does not strain to produce fruit, it just stays connected to the vine. In the same way, our spiritual life is sustained not by effort alone, but by remaining closely connected to Christ. To abide in Christ means to live with a continual awareness of his presence and his power. Choosing daily to stay rooted in his Word, to talk with him in prayer, and to trust him even when growth feels slow. Abiding is less about doing and more about surrendering to let Christ work in and through us. Jesus makes it clear that fruitfulness flows from this connection to the vine. When we abide in him, our lives begin to reflect his love, patience, and grace in ways we cannot manufacture on our own. Apart from him we can do nothing, but in him our lives bear lasting fruit that bring glory to God.

When we trim branches from a tree, it can look harsh at first. Healthy limbs are cut away. Growth is interrupted. Yet the gardener knows something the tree cannot: pruning is intentional. Just as a gardener removes branches, God lovingly prunes our lives. Some things he cuts away are not sinful or bad—just no longer fruitful. Jesus wants us to bear much fruit. But we can’t do that if we’re not abiding in Christ.

PRAYER

Lord, make me aware of what you might be pruning from my life. Allow me to trust the gardener’s hand and allow me to remain connected to the vine, so I can bear much fruit. Amen.

Cullen Jones
Social Media Manager

Resources

• Listen to God Be by Chris Renzema.

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