Jesus is indisputably the only indispensable that we have in this world.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Lodgedwithin this scripture is a huge body of truth! At first glance, the deep meanings in this scripture seem to be nuanced (fine-point distinctions that cause one to be very detailed), but, to the discerning, they are conspicuously obvious! Jesus says very clearly that He is the main thing! He is the trunk and root of the trees and without Him the branches cannot live or produce. Without Him, we can do nothing. He is Life and the sustainer of it. Before He spoke these words, He says,“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:1–2). It is the proving aspect of these words of Jesus that are of primary concern to me.
I find that when we ask God to make us better, He takes seriously the responsibility of improving us! As I write these words, I am both ecstatic while pained under the Pruner’s knife! Pruning hurts, but we must bear up under it if we are to bear fruit! I am convinced that pruning hurts, not only the branches but the Vine itself! Actually, I have never before given thought of hurt to the Vine, only to the branches! As I feel the pain of the pruner’s knife, I know Jesus must also feel it! When I fail to act in accordance with the Divine Life, it hurts the Vine! We feel the pain as we undergo His righteous and just pruning because we have an inherent desire to be fully like the Vine! The Vine is the branches’ goal, not to replace it, but to totally re-present it! The husbandman’s job is to aggressively deal with every branch so that it brings to fruition the will of the husbandman (God) and the Vine (Jesus), so that the branches produce in perfect harmony with the Vine.
Pastor Don