“I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

Many times we look to our strengths in life as if they are something that we produce. The words of our Lord Jesus found in this verse is a reality check for all who serve. There are many ways in which the body of Christ serves one another, as well as those in need. Nevertheless a problem occurs when we focus on what we are doing for the Lord rather than our connection to Him.

Many times we get busy serving the Lord and neglect our relationship with Him. This may come as a shock to you, but the Lord does not want us to do for Him. On the contrary the Lord just wants us to abide in Him as our verse says.

Jesus makes it clear that “without Me you can do nothing.” What He is teaching is that as it is impossible for a branch to live and bring forth fruit while being severed from the vine, and so it is with us. It is from the vine that the branch receives its very existence to bear fruit. In the same way our abiding in Christ connects us with Him as our source of bearing much fruit.

Many times we get the cart before the horse and try to abide in Him by serving Him in our own strength. That is the opposite of what Jesus is teaching because the expression “without me” denotes dependence. It is by His grace we are saved, and it is by His grace that we serve. It is a total dependence upon the Lord to lift us up in order to serve Him.

Alex Haley, the author of Roots, had a picture in his office of a turtle sitting on top of a fence post. The picture was there to remind him of a lesson he learned long ago: “If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help.” Mr. Haley said, “Any time I start thinking, ‘Wow, isn’t this marvelous what I have done!’ I look at that picture and remember how this turtle ‘me’ got up on that post.”

The Lord is our help and we need to be reminded as to Who it is, and by Whom we get our strength, our stamina, our wisdom, and our resources. It is the Lord who helps us and so unto Him is due all the praise for the good works that Christians perform.

As we look away from what we are doing for Christ, and simply abide in Christ much fruit will naturally flow from our relationship. With Christ as the source of our strength and help there are no limits as to what His people can achieve.

David C. Hale, Pastor Email: reasons4believing@gmail.com