Open to the Vine

The Fall has made humankind self-protective, cynical and scared.  And so it is difficult for us to really open ourselves up to another being – whether human or divine.  We build up walls.  We perfect defense mechanisms.

But discipleship requires vulnerability.  It requires us to open ourselves up to Jesus – to be vulnerable before Him – or, as Jesus describes it in John 15, to remain in Him as a branch is attached to and remains in the Vine.

Jesus says, “I am the Vine, you are the branches … remain in me.”  A branch is vulnerable.  Without its connection to the vine, it is as good as dead.  And so, a branch must remain connected to the vine and be open to the vine to receive life from it.  We see this openness in three ways.

First of all, a branch must be open to pruning.  Jesus is the Vine.  God the Father is the Gardener. We read in John 15:1-2 that, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”  Pruning looks drastic.  At our house, we had a very sickly hydrangea bush.  My wife Carrie tried various things help it along, but to no avail.  Finally, she just cut the thing way back and now this year it is growing and is healthy and producing more flowers than ever before.  Pruning looks drastic, but it’s healthy. 

Now while we may do that to our plants, we don’t like it very much when God does it to us.  We don’t like correction.  We don’t like being wrong.  But unless we are open to correction – open to God’s pruning – we will never be healthy and never grow as Jesus’ disciples.  The Lord disciplines those He loves.  So, a branch must be open to pruning.

A branch also must be open to receiving.  Jesus said in John 15:4, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”  We must remain in Christ as a branch must remain in the vine if it is to live.  For the branch cannot support itself.  It is dependent and so it must be open to receive from the vine. 

But being open to receive involves two things we don’t often like: dependency and commitment.  For we are a people who strive to be independent and uncommitted.   We don’t want to have to depend on anyone and we like to keep all our options open.

However, discipleship requires us to recognize that we are utterly dependent upon Christ and it requires us to be totally committed to Him.  We have to open ourselves up to Christ in order to receive life and every spiritual blessing from Him, especially love.  Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”  Discipleship is compelled by the love of Christ.  Jesus shows us what love is.  If we do not open ourselves to receive that love, we cannot be His disciples.  We must receive and remain in His love.

And lastly, a branch must be open to giving and expressing.  We read in John 15:8, “This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  Then we read in vv. 10-12, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

We are to produce fruit.  The fruit of love, obedience, glory and joy.  That is how we show we are disciples.  A vine is a utilitarian plant.  It exists to produce fruit.  Likewise we exist to produce fruit.  And the primary fruit we are to produce is love.

But it takes vulnerability to be loved by another and it takes vulnerability to love others.  As disciples, we must be willing to give – to give up ourselves in love and obedience to God and to give of ourselves in loving others.  Such vulnerability brings glory to God and, consequently, joy to us.  Jesus fills us so that our lives will overflow with love for God and for others.  Jesus fills us so that our obedience will not be constrained, but rather will be a natural expression.  Jesus fills us so that we will be filled with joy and we will glorify God.

As branches of the Vine, we must be open to the Vine.  We must remain in Christ and produce the fruit of His life in us.  That is how we show we are Jesus’ disciples.  That is how we show we are walking The Way.