Abiding in Christ

Part 1     Pruning and Producing

In John 15:4, Jesus says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” 

What does it mean to abide in or abide by something? The word abide means to comply with, follow, hold to, conform to, or stand by. One example that comes to my mind are the laws. We all strive to be law-abiding citizens. This is a part of being a good citizen of our country, state, and town. What happens if we don’t abide by the laws of the land? We get into big trouble, right? Another example that comes to mind is a dress code. I am a teacher and I have to “abide by” a dress code that is set forth by the county school board. There is also a code of ethics that I must follow or abide by as a professional educator. I am also told that I have to turn in my lesson plans on Monday of each week. What happens if I don’t abide by the rules and policies of my employer? Well….that means that I am being insubordinate and could be put on probation or even fired if I don’t change my behavior. We are all conscientious about obeying our countries’ laws. We are all very careful to abide by the rules and policies of our workplaces. It is called insubordination when we don’t abide by our boss’s rules. But think about this for a moment. What if we were as concerned about abiding in Christ as we are about abiding by the laws of the land, or the rules and policies of our employers? What does it mean to abide in Christ? How do I know if I am truly abiding in Christ? Abiding in Jesus is so much more than just saying we believe in Him. It is so much more than showing up for church on Sundays. I can show up, but not be engaged or connected at all. I can show up to my job at Bobby Ray Elementary, but if I am not engaged in my purpose, and intentional in my actions as a teacher, then I will not be effective. If I don’t establish a relationship or connection with each of my students and foster that connection, then they will not make progress. It is the same for us in our Christian walk. If we don’t establish and maintain a connection with Jesus, then we won’t be successful as a Christian.  Let’s begin by looking at one of the greatest analogies from Jesus on what it means to abide in Him.  

In John 15:1, Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser”. The dictionary definition of “vinedresser” is “a person who prunes, trains, and cultivates vines. To prune means “to cut off or cut back parts of for better shape or more fruitful growth” or to “cut off what is unwanted or superfluous”. (Merriam-Webster) To “train” a vine, the vinedresser will put a structure or trellis in place amongst the branches of the vine to cause the vine to grow in the direction that will promote the most growth. To cultivate means  “to till and prepare (land or soil) for the growth of crops” or “to plant, tend, harvest, or improve (plants) by labor and skill”. (Dictionary.com) Can you see how God does all these things in our lives as Christians? 

In John 15:2, Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” So…if I am bearing fruit for God in my life, then God will prune me so that I can bear more fruit. God wants to get the very most that He possibly can out of all of us for His purpose while we are here on earth. If something is keeping us from being the best we can be for Him, then He is going to try to prune us. But the truth is, we are never the best we can be, are we? We can always do more, so…..God will prune us for as long as we are alive and living our lives for His purpose. But….what if I don’t accept and recognize when God is trying to prune me?  If I don’t allow God to prune me, then I will eventually become unfruitful. What happens when I become unfruitful? John 15:2 says that every branch in Jesus (the true vine) that does not bear fruit will be taken away by God (the vinedresser). Is this as scary sounding to you as it is to me? I’m picturing a dead branch on the vine. Here comes the vinedresser. He cuts it off, throws it in a pile with other dead branches to make a big brush pile. Then we know what happens next!! The pile of useless dead branches is burned!! You see…..the dead branches can hinder the healthy branches from growing and producing fruit. In John 15:6, Jesus says, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” I don’t know about any of you all, but I do not want to be a part of that brush pile! 

How does God prune us? Well…..maybe I have someone or something in my life that is hindering me from reaching my potential as a fruit-bearer for God. It could be a bad habit or even an addiction. It could be that this habit has taken me completely away from God. I may have allowed myself to become a dead branch. Maybe it is a hobby that I am putting ahead of God. Maybe it is a person who is a negative influence on me. Notice that the definition says “to cut off or cut back”. For example, if I am involved in an activity or habit that is detrimental to my spiritual or physical health, then I need to prune or “cut off” that activity or habit. If it is an addiction to a substance, then we may need professional help to kick whatever the habit is. When our bad behavior convicts us, then guess what? That is God trying to prune us. Will we let him? There may be people that we need to completely cut out of our lives. I know that sounds extreme, but nothing is more important than our souls, and where we spend eternity. If I can’t be around a person without saying and doing things that are uncharacteristic of a Christian, then I need to allow God to prune that person from my life. Do you know that feeling that you have inside when you know that a person is just not good for you? You have fun with them, but it is not the kind of fun that Christians should be having and you know it….deep inside. That conviction that you feel is God trying to prune that person from your life. Will you let Him? I’ve had this happen multiple times. And I eventually realized that I had to make the effort to distance myself from the person. God wasn’t going to do it for me. It was my choice. But….when I started making the effort to distance myself, it seemed like something would always happen that took that person out of my path. I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back now, I see it. God helped me prune people from my life, but only after I was willing to let them go. Pruning is not easy, but it is necessary to grow as a Christian. This lesson has made me realize that God has probably pruned me out of others’ lives when I was the dead branch that needed cutting off in the past. 

God can also prune us by getting us to realize that we aren’t giving Him enough of our time. Let’s face it, friends. We can never give God enough, but we have to have Him as number one on our list of priorities or we are spinning our wheels as Christians. We are going nowhere if He isn’t first. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, “ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Putting God first means putting His church (kingdom) first. Colossians 3:1-2 says this, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”  Is it possible that we just need to cut back on or prune away some things that are hindering us from being who God wants and NEEDS for us to be? Friends, let’s remember this….it is not just about who God wants us to be. It is about who God NEEDS us to be. We are His vessels that are to carry His message to the lost. It is us, my Christian friends. It is our responsibility. Whether we want to accept the responsibility or not, God has given it to us. He needs us to be committed to His purpose for our lives. I mean, after all, He is why we are even here at all. So I ask myself and I’m asking you to ask yourself, are there things that I need to prune away or “cut back” on in my life. I know that I used to spend a lot of my time watching TV or movies, and reading secular novels. I’ve cut back, but honestly, I need to cut back some more. For some, it may be scrolling through social media, or playing games on your phone that takes up a lot of your time. It may be something else entirely. Am I saying that all these things are wrong in and of themselves? NO! I still enjoy a good movie, show, or book. That hasn’t changed. And that is totally fine. But the intensity of my affection towards those things has changed. Why? Because I now realize that I love God’s word so much more than those things! I didn’t realize how awesome His Word is until I truly put my heart into Bible study. Psalm 119:97 and Psalm 119:105 truly sum up how I feel about God’s Word, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” and “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”  Now I can tell you this….I don’t feel that way about any movie, TV show, sport, book, etc. Nothing else will fill the void that needs filling in our lives. And even still, I don’t feel like I spend enough time in it most days. So….if we spend all our time with our worldly activities, and we don’t set aside time for personal Bible study and prayer, then we won’t be as fruitful as we could be. This has been me for so much of my life. It has been easy for me to let personal Bible study and prayer slide when I wasn’t being intentional about it. It may be that we let worldly activities get in the way of Bible study and worship services sometimes. I know that I can raise my hand on this one, because I’m ashamed to say that I’ve done this. I’m sure we all have. But…I had an example set before me that I will never forget. I remember when I was growing up, I never asked my parents, “Are we going to church tonight?” on Sunday or Wednesday nights. Because I knew it wasn’t even a question whether we were going or not. We were going, and I knew that! If the church doors were open, we were going, unless something out of our control had come about to keep us from it. I am so very thankful for my parents, and what they instilled in me in my youth. Jeff and I tried hard to instill that in our kids, but I know we could have done better. We can always do better. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God in some way every single day. (Romans 3:23)  I am so thankful that Jesus did what He did 2000+ years ago so that I can be forgiven for my shortcomings. I ask myself, am I abiding in Christ? Am I allowing God to prune me so that I can bear the most fruit that I can?

So….to end part one of this post, let’s make some comparisons and review. God is our vinedresser. He prunes, trains and cultivates us if we are willing to let Him. A vinedresser cuts back the branches to promote the bearing of more fruit on the branch or vine. He completely cuts off the dead branches so that they don’t get in the way of the vine’s overall growth. In the same way, God, through His Word, convicts our hearts, and we act on that conviction to prune or get rid of the people or things in our lives that are keeping us from being the best fruit-bearers we can be for Him. A vinedresser sometimes uses a trellis to train the vine so that it will grow in the direction that will promote health and growth to the vine. In the same way, God trains us through the Bible (our trellis) to grow in the direction that will lead to bearing fruit for Him, and eventually lead to an eternity in heaven with Him. A vinedresser cultivates (prepares) the soil to promote health and strength for the entire vine or plant. He wants to promote a strong root system so that the plant can withstand harsh weather such as strong wind and rain. In the same way, God cultivates (prepares) our hearts through His word so that we can face the storms that life with strength and grace. If a branch is going to stay attached to the vine, it has to bear fruit. In order for us to abide in Christ, we must bear fruit. In order to bear fruit, we have to allow God to prune us. If we do not allow ourselves to be pruned so that we can bear more fruit, then we will become a dead branch on the true vine (Jesus) and the vinedresser (God) will cut us off. Isaiah 59:2 says this, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”  This verse says that sin (iniquity) separates us from God. We learn in John 15:2 and 15:6 that if we are unfruitful, then we are cut-off or separated from God. So….being unfruitful is a sin that will separate me from God. I don’t ever want to be a dead branch again. I certainly don’t want to be a dead branch when I stand before God on judgment day. I can never do enough to repay Jesus for what He has done for me. He doesn’t expect repayment. He only wants my heart. He wants every person’s heart. If we truly give Him our hearts, we will bear fruit as we abide in Him. It will become more and more natural to us as we step out of our comfort zones and do more. So…..prune, bear fruit, and abide, my sisters in Christ! We can all make a difference!

We will talk more about how we can bear fruit for God in the next post. In John 15:1, Jesus says that He is the “true vine”. What does that mean? I will explore that next week as well. I hope you all have a wonderful week. 

Are you in Christ? Are you a branch connected to the true vine, which is Jesus Christ? (John 15:1-8) Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help understanding how to be saved, please reach out. I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can help you.

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)