John 15: I Am the Vine

In John 15, Jesus calls himself the vine. Why? Because we are the branches; apart from him we can do nothing. In his words, from verse five:

“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.”

This interconnectedness is often overlooked in our self-dependent way of living. We frequently seek to live in our own strength, only calling out to God when life falls apart. Even then, we often blame God while calling out to him, wondering why he allowed us to come to this point of weakness to begin with.

But God allows us to reach our human limitations to show us our dependence upon him. We are not God, nor can we operate without him. Only when we live connected with him moment by moment do we bear much fruit.

Interestingly, Jesus also taught that “all things are possible with God.” In his way of teaching, without God we can do nothing; with God we can do anything. This reminder points us to our proper role, as branches connected to the one true vine who supplies life, sustains life, and causes us to bear fruit. If you feel weak today, remember the words of Jesus in this verse:

I am the vine.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author or co-author of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of the New Testament in 2011 at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.