Abiding in the Vine

Driving in the regions to the south and north of Adelaide and through the Adelaide Hills we are constantly met with the vista of grapevines spreading off into the distance.  In the spring these vines send out new canes which soon bud forth into a rich curtain of green as the vineyards spring into life.  The vines then flourish through the summer until the time of harvest when the labour, care and attention of the previous months is rewarded by an abundance of grapes.  What a picture of life and blessing!

After the leaves fall from the canes, the vines are pruned back in preparation for the cycle of fruitfulness in the coming year.  Overseeing the whole process is the vinedresser whose care is constant and knowledgeable.  He has his eyes firmly set upon the goal of an abundant harvest, and he knows what it will take to produce such a crop.

There are a number of things that we may take for granted when considering a fruitful vine.  Firstly, in producing fruit both the vine and a branch are mutually dependent.  The vine stock does not bring forth fruit, but neither can a branch bear fruit on its own.  Secondly, because the life and sap required to produce the fruit comes from the vine and its roots, every branch needs to be connected to the vine.  Third, a vine that is not tended and pruned will become a wild vine, unable to produce fruit.

Jesus likened Himself to a vine, His disciples to its branches, and His Father to the vine dresser.  He wanted to teach them to live in relationship to Him so that they could be fruitful in fulfilling what had been planned for them by God before time began.  So He told them, ‘abide in Me, and I in you.  … he who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing’. John 15:4&5. 

The question is how, in practical terms, do we abide in Christ the vine?  Where is our point of connection to Him?  The answer is simply, our relationship and gathering together with other Christians.  Jesus said, ‘where two or three are gathered together in My name there I am in the midst of them’.  Mat 18:20.  The ‘two or three’ here is not referring to the size of a congregation but is rather an allusion to the fact that in Israel no word could be confirmed apart from two or three witnesses.  Heb 10:28.  A person living alone can be deceived by his own thoughts and anxieties, but when we gather together, God's word is confirmed and clarified in the mouth of several.  Then the life of God flows, faith in this strengthened, and confidence built up as His word proceeds to us.  This is what Jesus promised when He said, ‘man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God’.  Mat 4:4. 

It is a dangerous thing to remain in isolation from God's people.  Jesus said that every branch that does not abide in Him is cast out and withers and dies.  Fellowship with God's people is the place God has ordained to convey His word of life to us.  Of course we can, and should, be in fellowship with Christ wherever we are, whether alone or with others; but our connection to Christ cannot be expressed in isolation from other Christians.  The writer of the book of Hebrews said that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but that we should exhort one another more and more as we see the day of His return approaching.  Heb 10:25. 

We should also note here that fellowship with God's people is not just attendance at their gatherings.  Fellowship is a deep sharing of what we have in common - the word of God's life, His love, care and correction.  In fellowship we are committed to Christ and to one another in the security of a relationship where we can receive encouragement, affirmation, adjustment and admonition.  Jesus likened this to the pruning of the vine dresser so that the branch can produce much more fruit.  In this vein the writer of Hebrews said, ‘no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it’.  Heb 12:11.  When the harvest is marked by abundant fruit there is great joy in all concerned.  Let us press on to participate in this joy.