The Seventh Day of Advent

The Seventh Day of Advent

Saturday, December 9, 2017

I am the true vine . . . abide in me, 

and I in you. As the branch cannot

bear fruit of itself except it abide in the

vine, no more can you, 

except you abide in me.

John 15:1a, 4

I have several plants in my house, in the sun room and the breakfast room. I try to take good care of them, but sometimes they grow so fast and I don’t prune them well. Invariably one will stick out too far into my walking pattern, and I will bruise it, almost sever it from its vine, or break it off altogether. Either case requires immediate attention to salvage the broken plant!

Sometimes I can wrap a piece that is just slightly pulled away, and it will actually heal and once more become a part of the larger plant. Sometimes the bruise is so harsh that the leaves just wither – and very quickly. The branches that are broken completely off are hopeless. I cannot put them back.

That is what Jesus is talking about here in John 15. He is the vine, the life-giving vine on which we grow, and if we are to be healthy parts of that plant, we must stay attached to receive the nutrients needed to sustain us. So how do we “abide?”

Moses told the people of Israel, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Deuteronomy 8:3b) If we are to abide in Christ, we must be fed by that bread – not occasionally but regularly – not legalistically but voluntarily and with anticipation. If we are to abide in Christ, we must “take [his] yoke . . . and learn from [him]” (Matthew 11:29) – walk with him daily in the plowing of our way through life. If we are to abide in him we must regularly take his example and get away from the crowds for time alone with God.

God’s Christmas present that “keeps on giving” wants to continue to feed and encourage us as we abide in him. He does most of the work. We just stay close to him and let him do the work in us he knows needs doing.

Father, thank you for Jesus, our Vine, the one who keeps us healthy spiritually! Thank you for giving him to us that first Christmas and for continuing to graft us and others into that vine down through the ages! Keep everything and everyone from bruising our branch and causing us to be separated from his life-giving vine. Amen.

The Light of the World
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2008,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.