I AM the true vine
Jesus said, I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener… and you are the branches.
Many years ago I bought a vine and planted it in our garden. I planted it simply to find out what I could learn from it in a biblical sense. However, I have to confess that I have not been totally committed to finding out the best way to look after it. What I have learnt is that it needs more pruning than any other plant in our garden and with my neglect has produced grapes the size of peas which taste awful and by the end of the season are sometimes covered in mildew.
In July Roy and I visited Hampton Court where there is a vine conservatory. My jaw must have dropped as I walked in because right by the door is the largest trunk of any vine I have ever seen. It’s huge, textured and gnarled and looks as though it has been there forever. The branches stretch the full length of the roof, getting maximum amount of light. Although I couldn’t see daylight I knew the sun was shining as the light seemed to filter through a layer of beautiful green leaves and from every branch hung the most gorgeous, juiciest black grapes. It was an amazing sight.
So what is the difference between the vine in my garden and the one at Hampton court apart from the obvious? The gardener at Hampton Court obviously knows what he’s doing. Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father is the gardener. He is the Gardener above all gardeners. How much more will He look after us.
Jesus says, remain in me and I will remain in you.
This seems for me to be at the heart of these eight verses. In fact Jesus goes on to mention this four times in a variety of ways in the next few verses, emphasising it as though wanting to make sure that His disciples get the message.
Remain in me and I will remain in you.
How can we have an intimate relationship with Jesus? Everyone is at a different stage in their Christian faith. Everyone has a story to tell and I would like to share mine with you.
I was brought up in the Welsh Presbyterian Church in Wales. From childhood I went to chapel with my family. It was the pattern, the rhythm of our lives. I grew up believing in God and knowing about Jesus. I eventually got married and joined the Church of England and became confirmed. If you had asked me then, do you believe in God? I would have answered ‘yes’. Do you have a faith? I would have said ‘definitely’. Are you active in church life? Most certainly. However, in my mid–thirties I began to experience a sense of dissatisfaction. Looking back I realised I was blaming the church, but with hindsight I realise that actually the problem lay with me.
During that time a friend lent me a book called ‘Beyond Ourselves’ by Catherine Marshall. She described a friend of hers, a South African Pastor called David du Plessis, waking up one night and found himself saying, ‘God has no grandchildren, God has no grandchildren.’ He was puzzled and looked up his Bible concordance. No references to God’s grandchildren, but plenty for God’s children. He thought about this and later realised what it meant. When Jesus was on this earth His disciples knew Him, His followers knew Him and their children knew Him – His physical presence was with them. But then Jesus died and went to be with His Father in heaven. The children grew up and got married and had children of their own and they passed on their knowledge of Jesus and so their children had inherited their beliefs. So down through the centuries we have people who have met with Jesus personally such as Martin Luther and Charles Wesley and others unknown to us, but there are others who have inherited their Christianity and are like God’s grandchildren.
I came to realise that was me - a grandchild. I needed to know Jesus personally. And so at 9.00pm on Sunday, 27th September 1981 at home I said something like, ‘OK Lord I want you to come into my life.’ Over the next few days I realised that I was hearing things around me and seeing things in a slightly different way. I was beginning to live my life to a different beat. Later that week I read a chapter abut the Holy Spirit. I had never thought about the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples that they wouldn’t see Him any more, but not to worry, He would send The Helper, His Holy Spirit and we’re told in John 20:22 when Jesus appears to His disciples after His resurrection that he breathed on them and said ‘receive my Holy Spirit’. Then I realised that on the Sunday evening I had received the gift of the Holy Spirit by inviting Jesus into my life. The bible began to make sense and hymns I had known since childhood were leaping off the pages at me. I found I was able to pray in a way that I had never been able to pray before. Now I knew Jesus not just with my head but with my heart.
It was the most exciting discovery that I have ever made and I felt that I had struck gold.
I just wonder if there is anyone here today who like me has inherited Christianity. You may believe in God and have a strong faith and that’s great. But do you feel that Jesus is standing on the doorstep of your life? If so, I would encourage you to invite Him in.
So what is the result? Jesus says,
If a man remains in me and I in Him he will bear much fruit. What is this fruit?
The first thing I thought of was the fruit of the Spirit that Paul mentions in Galations 5, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. This is like the inner fruit when we allow God to nurture a Christ-like quality in us.
Then there is the outer fruit which is evident in our actions, our relationship with others and sharing our faith with others, telling people about Jesus.
If a man remains in me he will produce much fruit.
How do we go about producing much fruit?
We know that if a plant remains un-pruned it grows in all the wrong directions to the point where it may become entangled in other plants. It may grow in on itself and stops the light getting in. It uses up and wastes so much energy it becomes unproductive or may produce fruit that is of no use to anyone. Are we prepared to be pruned in order that we produce fruit and a rich harvest? Without pruning we shall only be able to live to a fraction of our potential. If it were Harvest today and there were empty baskets at the front of the church, how empty or full would yours and mine be? Just a little fruit or full to over flowing?
Pruning is painful, but the benefits far outweigh the pain. Pruning brings release and freedom [not guilt] and enables us to produce more fruit. It’s a life time process. There are things in my past that I have had to deal with and had someone to pray with me in order that I could move on. Do you have something in your past that still affects you and you need someone to pray with you? Do we need to forgive someone? Do we have a fear of something? Do we have a habit that needs to be broken? The list goes on, but you know when you get that gentle nudge from the Lord when he says, come on, you need to deal with this, we’ll do it together. He is in it with us and will not leave us on our own. In fact, He is very close to us in the pruning process.
Do we as a church community need to be pruned? Are we listening to Him, cooperating with obedience and trust? Do we have our priorities right? Are we doing God’s will in God’s way? Are we producing fruit for others to enjoy the harvest?
Pruning brings release and freedom and enables us to produce more fruit. God can use us in whatever season of our lives we find ourselves in, but we should not compare our progress with anyone else.
Finally, one thing we can be sure of. We can be confident in the knowledge that the pruning shears are in safe hands with our Heavenly Father. He created each one of us. He is the Gardener above all gardeners and our relationship with Him is the most important of all. Jesus enables us to produce much fruit for an abundant harvest to the Father’s praise and glory. Amen.
J.H. 21.10.07.