I Am the Vine; You Are the Branches
“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
I have a garden. But I wouldn’t consider myself a gardener. Vines? Branches? Fruit? I don’t understand it all. But my iPhone? Now, THAT, I get!
With my iPhone, I can call a friend in another country. I can text multiple friends at once. I can find directions to the most remote locations. I can play games against others that are not even with me. I can shine a flashlight. I can find local movie times at the touch of a button. I can find the nearest pizza joint. I can read my Bible. I can check the weather at camp. I can look at pictures of Jimboy from last summer’s carnival. I can listen to my favorite music. I can get the time and distance of my run. There isn’t much my phone can’t do. I am actually really fond of it.
As much as I love my phone, and as much as my phone can do, it can’t do ANYTHING if it is not charged. I recently went away on vacation up in the mountains and I did the unthinkable. I FORGOT MY CHARGER! Out of all the things to forget, how could I forget that???? You see, we were up in the middle of nowhere, with no iPhone accessories sold in a fifty-mile radius. Without my charger, my phone was useless.
As great as my phone is, apart from being charged, it can do NOTHING. No, Jesus isn’t my iPhone. Nor is He my little white charger. Not even the electricity that goes from one to the other. He is so much more!
But I get it! Jesus is the vine. We are the branches. We are designed to bear fruit. But if the branch is not connected to the vine, there will be no fruit. We will be useless, because the Bible teaches us that apart from Him, we can do nothing! How do we stay connected to the vine? We do this by reading His Word, praying and spending time with Him.
You might not understand garden lingo. But I bet you know cell phones! So next time you plug your phone in to be charged, think about this verse. And ask yourself, when was the last time I got charged?