Life Lesson From A Vine and a Branch

For the last couple of days now, I have been camped out on a couple verses in John 15. The ones where Jesus says, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself." And then a little later He says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4 & 5 NIV)

Now if you are like me, I have a tendency to be a bit head-strong and independent. As I was growing up the surest way to get me to do something was to tell me that I couldn't. That was like lighting the fuse. As matter of fact, Bonnie still uses that tactic at times to get me motivated.

What is it about us guys that just bristles when someone tells us that we can't do something? It is a bit different when it comes to Jesus saying it.

"Remain in me...apart from me you can do nothing." Those words just echo in my head. It comes to mind that the times I have gotten in the most trouble, have dug the deepest holes for myself is when I have tried to live my life independent from God and anyone else.

"Remain in me...apart from me you can do nothing." The words haunt me. They are so true. If there is anything of real meaning that is to come from a man's life, if we are to make any kind of an impact on our families, our places of work, and our community, we must relinquish our claim to live our lives in utter independence and commit to a fierce, loyal dependence upon Christ. As a branch is utterly dependent upon the vine for everything it needs to bear fruit, I am totally dependent upon Christ to supply the strength, knowledge, wisdom, patience, and talent to carry out His mission for my life. When I try to get by on my own wits, I dry up pretty quickly and typically fail. When I remain in Christ, the results are quite different.

How does one remain in Christ? I think it is rather simple, and being a rather simple guy, I am thankful for that.

1. Time in God's Word - Reading, studying and learning from the Field Survival Manual that the Creator of the universe has written to guide us through life.

2. Prayer - Yeah, I know, not a word most guys are comfortable with. I challenge you to study the mighty men of God in the Bible, the warriors, the movers and the shakers, the world-changers and there you will find men who were passionate about prayer. Men who were unashamed to admit they didn't know the answers, didn't have the strength, that they didn't have a clue. They laid their weakness before the mighty King of kings and drew from the ample supply that He offers and through their connection with God they found all they needed to overcome whatever confronted them, no matter how impossible it seemed to human eyes.

3. Obey - Very simply, put into action what you have learned through time in the Bible and what God has laid on your heart in prayer. It does no good to sit at the side of the road wishing the flat tire was full. You have to take a wrench in your hands and put it to work. We can wish for our marriages to be better, we can wish our kids turn out right OR we can take the tools God has has given us and put them to use to change the world.

"Remain in me...apart from me you can do nothing." A simple lesson from a vine and a branch that challenges us to our core. Let us become men of fierce dependence upon Christ and through His abundant supply, draw from Him what we need to turn this world upside-down.