Branching Out

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 (NIV)

 

Many years ago when my grandkids were small, they begged to put up my Christmas tree. “I would love that,” I replied. “How about I give you some directions and then you can do it?” Six little heads immediately shook back and forth. “No thanks. We can do it all by ourselves,” they responded enthusiastically.

 

I smiled and watched as they opened the huge tree box and dumped its contents on the floor. The artificial tree was color-coded to help the person putting it together. Each branch had a colored tip which corresponded to the same colored hole in the tree “trunk.”

 

There were longer branches at the bottom, medium length in the middle and shorter ones at the top. If layered correctly, the tree resembled a triangle.

 

“So what do you think, Grandma?” the tree trimmers asked me after they had finished the tree several minutes later. I wasn’t quite sure what to say. “I’ve never seen a tree quite like it,” I finally answered. “It is very . . . unique.”

 

The larger, red coded branches that were supposed to be inserted at the bottom of the trunk were at the top. The middle layers were bare with no branches at all. The bottom of the tree, which should have had two layers of six branches each, had only one small branch in each of the two rows. In addition, none of the grandchildren seemed to be concerned that there were several more branches left on the floor.

 

I couldn’t help laughing as I heard one of them comment: “The picture on the box is wrong. It doesn’t look anything like our tree.” Mercy.

 

In today’s Scripture in John 15:5, the branches that Jesus is referring to are not ones on a Christmas tree but rather, each of us. And He is very clear in what He is saying: if we do not stay connected to Him as the Power Source in our lives, we will be useless in bringing others to Him and useless to His kingdom. He is the “picture on the box.” He is the One we should pattern our lives after every day.

 

I shake my head as I think about the times I have tried to do life on my own. As if this “branch” thought she could survive without the Vine of Jesus! I’ve even wondered if “the picture on the box was wrong” as far as His plan for me because my life hadn’t turned out at all like I thought it should

 

We may all be “unique” branches but our relationship with Jesus, the Vine of Life, will keep us connected as we bear much fruit for Him.  

 

Father, I want more than anything to have you first in my life. I desire to be a branch that bears fruit for you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

 

 

Reflect

• Have you ever felt that you could handle situations in life on your own without the Lord?

 

• How did those situations turn out when you tried to handle them by yourself?

 

Apply

• Draw an outline of a Christmas tree, and write in the Lord at the top.

 

• Begin your day with Jesus at the Top of the tree. Prioritize your list of activities for the day, after you have spent time with Him.

 

Power

• John 15:5 (NIV) “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

 

• Psalm 32:8 (NIV) “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”

 

• Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”