John 15:1-11
1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 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. 5 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. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
A picture speaks with a thousand words. No doubt we have heard this cliché. But the truth of this picture speaks clearly. For the blind runner, everything depends on the trust he has for his guide. Through the rope, he is led in the darkness through the course. Through the rope, he is guided by the runner keeping pace beside him. Everything depends on the compassion of the guide to keep him running straight and true. Without the rope and the runner, everything falls back on himself, but with the rope and runner, the obstacles can be overcome.
So too is it with us in our discipleship. We are the blind runner struggling with the obstacles of our brokenness and our fallen nature. But we are not alone in our struggles. Through the mercy of our Guide-Runner Christ, we have one who condescends to our plight and out of compassion offers the rope of his Spirit to lead us and guide us, as we run our race. As these two run the cross-country race set before them, so too do we and Christ run the race of human discipleship towards God. Just as the guide-runner not only keeps pace beside but also leads the fellow runner, so too does Christ keep pace beside us as our fellow Brother, but also guides us in Power and Righteousness in front of us as the Word of God.
Perhaps this illumines the idea that I am the vine; you are the branches. The vine and the branches share a common bond, the blind-runner and the guide-runner share a common bond, where the one sees for the other, and Christ and the Church share that same bond, Christ leads the Church, and the Church is led. Just as everything depends on the mercy and lungs of the guide, and the trust of the follower, so too does everything depend on the mercy and the power of Christ and the trust of the followers. Without keeping pace and guiding along the safe path the runner following is led into hazards and physical obstacles, without Christ keeping pace and guiding us along the safe path, His disciples are led into trials and temptations. The Vine is joined to the branches, Christ is joined to His Church.
But the two runners, just do not run for no purpose, so too does the disciple follow Christ, for a purpose. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. The point of the runner following the guide is to reach the goal of completing the race. The point of abiding or remaining or staying with Christ is to reach the goal of bearing fruit or righteousness. What if this is why Christ became our Brother and our God, so that we might become right and true as Christ is Right and True. They finished their race, we are to finish ours, the race of righteousness.
But imagine if you will what happens if the cord is cut. The blind-runner is back to being alone, the disciple is back to being both guide and follower, and the branch must become the vine again. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. The runner without a guide stops running, the branch without a vine dries up and dies, the disciple without Christ, loses not just the Guide but also their Sustainer. Instead of running together and succeeding, we run alone and fall short and miss the mark as only a blind runner can.
Perhaps the entire point of this Word of God is the single Word “remain.” As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; remain in my love. To follow God is to remain in Christ, to stay in His love and his power. To follow his lead and his guidance, to trust his compassion and his care for us, to keep the cord and allow Christ to be Master and Lord and we in contentment and joy follow Jesus’ path. Remain in me and I in you.
But you and I are not yet to the point of remaining in Christ every moment of every day. We have our moments of being the branches on the vine, or being the runner clinging faithfully to the cord, but we also have our moments when we cut ourselves off from the vine or drop our end of the cord altogether. This you see allows us to make our own choices, make our own goals or agendas, or in sheer spite just do what we want instead of following. Perhaps those choices involve how we spend our money, how we use our time, or how we vote, or whether we worship this Sunday, volunteer with a charity, or invest in a relationship with a neighbor and staying home, working on our gardens, and investing in ourselves. Instead of holding the cord, we cut the cord in independence and downright mutiny.
My friends, what would it look like or what would it take for us to remain in Christ a little more in our lives and to leave Christ a little less this day and the ones to come? Might it be a little more daily and weekly worship? Perhaps a little more solitary prayer and a little more doing everything prayerfully? Maybe more studying of our Bibles and reading difficult books that challenge and stretch our thinking? What if it means more loving service of our neighbors? Whatever it looks like for us, are we willing to remain more and more in Christ and reduce cutting or dropping the cord of Life? This is our daily struggle, let us remain and abide in Christ as He remains and abides in us. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. Amen and Thanks be to God.
Leave a Reply