"I am the vine, you are the branches: John 15:5

 

John 15:1-8 reads Christ spoke of Himself as the true vine: “I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Have you ever looked closely at a tree and its branches? I have often looked and appreciated trees for their beauty and usefulness but only in the last couple of weeks have I looked closer at a tree just several feet from our front window. We have several huge trees surrounding our property and they provide shade and beauty.

The really strange and interesting thing about this one tree is how one of its branches reaches out to one of our neighbor’s smaller trees. That tree is only a foot away from ours. It is a smaller tree of the same kind, but the neighbor’s tree and branches look like it is not doing well. That is, until recently when one of the branches of the weak tree extended one of its branches to our stronger tree and its branch. Honestly, it looks like our strong tree and its branch is trying to help the smaller branch and tree survive. After a couple of weeks, the smaller tree and branch is doing better. The branches actually look greener and stronger.

I have noticed this same phenomenon with plants such as rose bushes, daffodils, and other plants. Years ago I read that plants that are different but placed close to other different plants—huddle together; they stay close together and support each other, so that they will survive. And survive, they do!

Isn’t this a lot like human beings? Don’t we hang together with people who are similar to us—attitudes, opinions and so forth? And don’t we do this so that we will survive—perhaps thrive? Of course, we do.

For Christians like you and me, we should first thing in the morning rush to our savior and get nourished. He is the tree and we are the branches. If we go straight to Him in the morning, won’t we get the nourishment, encouragement and love so that we can face the day with courage, a plan to do well and love from our Savior? You bet we will. All we need to do is go to Him directly and say, “Will you be with, help and love me today?” His answer will always be, “Yes!”