The Vine

Sometimes I get myself into a place where I am living in sin, and yet, am feeling bad about it. Constantly I come to this place where I am so focused on my sin that I do not focus on the person who has made that sin not count. I try to improve myself, feeling as if I can’t come to Christ until I am more presentable. I miss the whole point. One of the aspects of Christ’s beauty is that he loves us the same no matter how dirty or clean we are. This morning I woke up early, made coffee and a roaring fire- I sat in an old rocking chair staring into the flames and talking to God. A thought came into my head with such a great force that I had to write it down: it’s not whether you sin or not. Whether you sin, or do not sin simply shows where your spirit/relationship is. When I am constantly sinning, I start focusing on that sin, and focusing on ridding the sin from my life. Yes, the sin is a bad thing, but I am not realizing that the source of that sin is the bad status of my relationship with Christ.

John 15:1-8

New International Version (NIV)

The Vine and the Branches

15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “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. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Remain in Christ, and he will remain in you. If Christ is in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from him you can do nothing. When I start to see sin in my life, it is because I have become separate from the gardener- and am starting to wither. No matter how hard I try to produce good fruit, it is impossible apart from the gardener. Therefore I must be constantly working on my relationship with Christ. Like any relationship, I need to read the letters that are sent to me (the bible) along with constantly being in communication (prayer). Just yesterday I told my Sunday school class about a time when I really let the spirit reign in my life, I saw enough “coincidences” to know that Christ was showing me something beautiful. Something that I will strive to have for the rest of my life: being connected to the vine, under the full care of the gardener.