December 1 2011

Branch Basics
 
Reading: John 15:4-5, 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Recently, I heard a man say something that was amazingly simply and yet incredibly deep. He asked, “How hard does a branch have to work to produce fruit?” I immediately pictured an animation of a branch turning a shade of red as it pushed and pushed until all of a sudden, “Pop!” Fruit starts bursting out of the branch. The gentleman quickly followed up with, “The branch doesn’t have to work hard at all, it simply has to make sure to stay connected to the tree. That is its singular and only responsibility”. So many times, we make life so much for difficult than what it should be. We work so hard for the perception. When we lose our “leaves” (loss of a job, loss of a spouse, rebellious child, depression, etc.), we struggle; we feel inadequate; we are bothered with the thought of what others may think. Yet, when you drive past a tree, do you comment about how gorgeous that branch looks? Of course not… it’s all about the tree. Cut a branch off and the branch will die. The tree? It will continue to grow and feed the branches as long as it remains alive. Men, Jesus IS ALIVE! He will always produce and feed the branches but you as a branch simply have to make sure to stay attached to Him, to grow in Him. You will still have times that you lose your leaves but, in Him, you can trust that it is only a season, there will always be a spring… new leaves… new growth in your life. All you have to do is remain in Him.

Are you going through a time right now where you’ve lost your “leaves”? What are you struggling with?


How can you have a singular focus today of simply remaining in Him and focusing on growing in Him today?


End of the Day Review
  
How were you able to focus on simply remaining and growing in Him today?
 
 
How did that impact your day and your perspective on things?