God Speaks
“I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener. 2 He lops off every branch that doesn’t produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops. 3 He has already tended you by pruning you back for greater strength and usefulness by means of the commands I gave you. 4 Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can’t produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me.
5 “Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can’t do a thing. 6 If anyone separates from me, he is thrown away like a useless branch, withers, and is gathered into a pile with all the others and burned. 7 But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! 8 My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to my Father.
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Live within my love. 10 When you obey me you are living in my love, just as I obey my Father and live in his love. 11 I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your cup of joy will overflow! 12 I demand that you love each other as much as I love you. 13 And here is how to measure it—the greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life for his friends; 14 and you are my friends if you obey me. 15 I no longer call you slaves, for a master doesn’t confide in his slaves; now you are my friends, proved by the fact that I have told you everything the Father told me.
16 “You didn’t choose me! I chose you! I appointed you to go and produce lovely fruit always, so that no matter what you ask for from the Father, using my name, he will give it to you. 17 I demand that you love each other, 18 for you get enough hate from the world! But then, it hated me before it hated you. 19 The world would love you if you belonged to it; but you don’t—for I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave isn’t greater than his master!’ So since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you! 21 The people of the world will persecute you because you belong to me, for they don’t know God who sent me.
22 “They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Anyone hating me is also hating my Father. 24 If I hadn’t done such mighty miracles among them they would not be counted guilty. But as it is, they saw these miracles and yet they hated both of us—me and my Father. 25 This has fulfilled what the prophets said concerning the Messiah, ‘They hated me without reason.’
26 “But I will send you the Comforter—the Holy Spirit, the source of all truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me. 27 And you also must tell everyone about me because you have been with me from the beginning.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: When Jesus said, “I am the true vine, you are the branches, and the Father is the gardener,” He was saying that we needed to stay connected to Him in order to be productive for the purpose of glorifying God. God would trim away unfruitful branches and shape fruitful ones to be even more fruitful. We who are Jesus’s disciples are to relate to each other in unselfish love, even to the point of laying down our lives for each other. The world apart from Christ will hate His disciples. After all, it hated Him first. His disciples must not return the hated, however, but overcome it with the truth and love that only the Holy Spirit can supply.
Prayer: Dear Father God who is the Gardener of my life, thank You that Jesus is the true source of life and vitality for this branch–me. Keep me firmly attached to You and growing the fruit of the Spirit even though at times the pruning hurts. I want to continue producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control for the benefit of others and for Your kingdom. Help me to be a good disciple of Jesus in relation to others, loving them as He would. You have chosen and appointed me for this situation. You will give me all I need to carry out Your purposes if I just ask and obey whatever You say. Holy Spirit, the world is hating me right now. My natural reaction is to defend myself and hate back. Instead, please help me to love those who are hating and hurting me, by telling them the truth about Your love for them.
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will stay connected with Jesus, the true vine, by spending significant time reading the Bible and praying.
- I will thank God for the ultimately good purpose He has in mind as He is pruning me right now.
- I will look for ways to show Christ’s love to _______ (someone specific) who is hating and/or hurting me, then do it.
- I will pray for those who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. They most exemplify the people Jesus said that Holy Spirit would comfort.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.