JOHN 15:4-5.

Remain in me, as I also 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.

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

TO PONDER

I have always loved this branches and vine verse, but perhaps not for the reason you think.

I have an uncle who owns and operates a vineyard in the Barossa Valley. From time to time, I have been visiting with his family when the vineyard is busy and have been able to help out on occasion. I helped him plant some of the vines over 20 years ago, different grape varieties in different patches, where the conditions were better suited to one kind of trap or another. I have been there during pruning season when excess brach has been trimmed to encourage maximum fruit production. The only thing I haven't ever been there for is harvest, but I have been there in the weeks and sometimes only days before picking has begun and I have seen the branches heavily laden with fruit. They get that way because of the work and effort of my uncle, the grape farmer (or more technically, vigneron).

Often I think we spend a lot of time striving to produce fruit in our own power. I strive to do the right thing, to have all the answers and tick all the boxes. However, it's the farmer who puts in all the work. The vine, and its branches, produce grapes by virtue of the fact that they are grape vines, all they have to do is be themselves, to be what they were created to be. In fact, generally speaking, the less stressed out the vines are, the better fruit they will produce (that's not always strictly true for wine grapes).

God is like the diligent vigneron, who attends to the needs of the vine and its branches, providing just the right amount of water exactly when it is needed. Giving a prune and cutting away unnecessary or unhelpful growth wherever it's needed. Maturity is about trusting the Farmer in his work, knowing that he is working on you to produce exactly the kind of fruit he wants. Don't spent too much effort trying to create the fruit you see in others in your own life. Let God produce the fruit that he needs you to produce in the way that only you can.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that you know exactly what help and support I need and exactly when I need it. Thanks you that even when I feel like I'm not growing or producing much fruit, that you are still at work in me bringing about your plans for me and growing me deeper in your Son Jesus. Amen

Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle