John 15:1-8 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
"Where do you stay?" was a question from the late 60s that I encountered in Houston. It's very different from that which I had grown up headed asked or that I would ask, "Where do you live?" The former seems to imply that life is lived outside of where one stays; the latter implies that life in centered around where we stay. In this passage Jesus is stating His truth; we should live in Him, for it is in Him that we find strength, comfort, growth, and blessings. God is our vinegrower, and Jesus is the grapevine. In Jesus, those branches of that vine that do not bear fruit are removed, and those that are bearing fruit are pruned so that more fruit may come from them. If we hear and live His word, our cleansing has already come. If we abide, which means live, in Him, we will bear much fruit. Hear again, His declaration: I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
We have a choice to make daily, to select where we will live and how we will live. Some may choose to live in their careers or work, some in their families and their demands, but those who know that fruit comes from abiding in Jesus, choose Jesus as their dwelling place, for they know that great things come from the Source of Life and Love. Notice that Jesus says, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
PRAYER: Loving Father, today I choose to live in Jesus, for I claim Him to be the vine on which I can live and grow. Let me be faithful and fruitful in my living, talking, thinking, and doing. Be glorified in me; for I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
