The Vine, The Branches, and The Fruit

As I was thinking about how human beings think and operate there is a passage in the fifteenth chapter of the Gospel of John that came to mind. It appears that each of us has different roles that we play in the giant scheme of things. Not all are as visible as others. Some are leaders and some are followers. Some tall or short, weak or strong, old or young, and most are just slightly different in different ways. We seem to come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and other distinctions. We are born in different places and times. Though we might be similar we are all quite unique. No two of us are exactly the same nor completely alike. God made us that way intentionally. It was for His reasons and purposes that we were born as, and when we came into being.

I grew up on a farm where we had several fruit trees. We raised many garden vegetables and even picked wild grapes and berries that grew on vines along with many other fruits and plants. There was a time when our fruit trees were so full of fruit that a few branches actually broke off the tree because the fruits were too heavy for the branches to hold. The sheer weight of the fruit broke the branches. At such times we gathered the fruit on those broken branches because they would die once separated from the tree. Not to worry because that gave us kids a reason to gather some of the fruit prematurely before they went bad. However, that broken branch was no longer good so it had to be cut away from the tree and thrown in the trash. It was no longer productive.

I remember looking at our trees full of fruit so numerous that you could not focus on just one single fruit. They all looked really good and yummy. There was fruit high up on the tree and there was fruit down on the lower branches. There was fruit fully exposed on the outer branches and there was fruit inside the branches that were not fully exposed. All were good fruit but different even though they were the same kind of fruit.

When you see a fruit tree or a vine that produces fruit or vegetables you can see how we were created in a similar way. Though many of us belong to a particular family we come from the same initial gardener. Take one tree alone like a peach tree. There are so many fruits on each particular branch, some high and some low. Some are ripened early and some later. Though they are the same fruit they are individually different. We are like that as well. So, as Christ was speaking about the fruit, the vine, the branches, and the Gardener I could easily relate to what He was saying. I will graft a large section of the scripture below here because it is all relevant to my message I would like to speak about. I will commentate after you read the passage. This is from the Gospel of John:

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 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.

Christ says that He is the vine and His Father is the Gardener. Think of a peach tree. There are so many branches on the tree that produces fruit. Trees are attached with the roots that dig deep down within the earth in order to receive life-sustaining nutrients from the earth, which is their main source of life. The tree grows individual branches and on the branches are the fruit. If a branch broke away from the tree it would no longer be good so it is cut off and thrown away but as long as that branch is attached to the tree year after year it will produce good fruit. At one point some of the branches start to weaken or rot or get old or diseased so they no longer produce fruit. The gardener has to cut off those branches because they rob the tree of nutrients that could go to the remaining healthy branches. Once that dead or dying branch is cut off the rest of the branches get healthy and continue producing good fruit.

We are individual branches attached to the tree of life. Life came through Christ as stated in the first chapter of the same book of John. In the beginning, was the Word that the Word was with God and the Word was God.

1 In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

So, all life came through this source because without this source nothing could have been made. Through this single source, all life came into being. The light in us that shines came from a single source and once that light is extinguished, we will no longer be in this world. In a similar way once a branch is separated from the tree it loses its life-sustaining juices so it is cast away. There is something so similar to how we exist and how most of God’s creation was designed to operate and have our being.

We get so saturated in our various philosophies of religion that we fail to see the picture right in front of our faces. We come into life by a source that most of us cannot clearly see or understand but the proof in the putting is that we are definitely here on the earth having life and being. Our lives are not permanent here on earth so once that light ceases to shine from its source we die. There is something mysterious about how well or long we live in general.

We had nothing to do with how we came into the world yet we came into the world by some source. Even if you do not believe in the scriptures or the words of Christ you are in this world and there was a Source that caused you to be here. We are the branches that have a purpose and that purpose is to produce good fruit. Our fruit is to be a benefit to the life we are a part of. Though we can’t all be big and mighty we all are significant to the life we were trust into. The Source that granted us life has a mission and a purpose for our being, however large or small.

Like some branches are high up in the tree and clearly visible, there are other branches that is hidden and not as visible but they still produce fruit. Not all branches were intended to serve the same identical function but it was the same tree that produced the different branches. If a branch no longer produces fruit it is no longer functions in the manner that it was created. Such branches are detached from the tree by the gardener and cast away. When we no longer serve the intended purpose of our Gardener we are cast away from His tree of life. Even though we still may be alive we are essentially dead in spirit and cease to function spiritually.

This also reminds me of the scripture about the Potter and the pots. A potter makes so many kinds of pots for different purposes. Each pot he makes is made out of love and intended to serve a specific purpose. Some are fancy pots intended to use for special occasions and some were just ordinary pots that were intended to use for common daily purposes. The potter decides what pots to make and what purposes they were intended to serve. Doesn’t the potter have the right to make the pots as he or she wishes? The pots don’t complain to the potter and say why did you make me this way? The pot just does what the pot was intended to do and serve in the capacity that it serves.

God is our potter. He made each of us with intent and purpose in mind but we don’t all find ourselves being used as intended. In fact, we have free will so we can actually choose to be used completely opposite from the intent of our Potter. That is not a good idea but if you like you can totally refute your Potter and disregard Him altogether. But, in doing so there will be consequences to pay. On the other hand, should we seek to find our Potter/Maker asking about our mission and purpose in life that would delight our Maker. In doing so we would be fulfilling the purpose from which we were intended to serve, which is to reconnect with our Maker.

Unlike many other members of creation human beings with free will causes complications. We somehow have this need to be equal in statue and design as others that we see around us. Rather than accept the Potter’s design and assignment we instead covet what others have. Even though we are cautioned not to covet that is like taking a child to a candy store and tell them they can’t have what they see and desire. Most of us yield unto temptation in spite of knowing it is not the right thing to do. Some may be stronger at resisting temptations but to be human is to err (sin). Perhaps God uses such things to refine our souls? Even human parents realize that their children will err and fall short of their expectations but the parents use those situations to teach their children morals and correct behavior. I would imagine God does the same with His children of creation, the ones He calls His children.

This takes me back to staying connected to the Source of life itself. Christ said that as long as you stay connected with the vine (source of life) you will produce good fruit because you get your nutrients from the source of life. But, should you decide that you no longer wish to remain connected to the vine then you are on your own and free to make such a choice. Even though it does not please the Heavenly Father you are free to depart but you will no longer be able to produce good fruit once disconnected from the vine.

I see why Christ tried to teach us about God, our Heavenly Father, by using parables and worldly examples such as fruit and other members of creation that we can see with our own eyes. For us to understand the totality of God and His measures it would be impossible to comprehend without common ordinary examples we experience in life. We can understand things such as trees, branches, fruit, and vines but the Source of life itself is beyond the mind’s ability to grasp. The prophet Isaiah said it this way in Isaiah 55:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

When you think about the source of life think about every living thing that has life and being and know that all are attached to a single Source at the same time. Think of your mind and how it is attached to the life you are living. Every other person is attached to the same source and have their being through this same One Source. Try to imagine that all beings attached to One Source and imagine what that might be like. Such a being is unimaginable but that is Who and What God IS. And yet this very same God is the One that granted us life, purpose and being. Ideally, you would think we would want to attach ourselves to this Source and take shelter under His umbrella but in ignorance or lack of knowledge, some refute or defy the Source that made them. It is a good thing that God does not have human traits like us because we would be in a heap of trouble. Yet even still He shows us grace knowing who and what we are.

It is interesting to note that we are in life that was created by a Source outside of us. We did not make it and yet we are in it. Prudence would say, turn to the Maker and hopefully connect with the Source that made life and thereby find meaning and purpose of being in what was made. Even though my mind cannot conceive of the totality of God… I do honor, revere, humble myself, and give my full gratitude to my Maker. That is what God expects of us but He will not force Himself upon us because He wants us to want Him on our own volition. He is the vine and we are the branches. Should we remain connected to the vine He will remain connected with us and we will produce the good fruit that He intended of us.

In the process of writing this essay, the thought came to me about how can we actually know God. In truth, we cannot fully know God in our current form because we are currently in a finite form and a temporary existence. On the other hand, God is infinite and exists in the ALL, permeating through time, space, and infinity. That means that infinity cannot fit into a finite space capacity. That would be like trying to fit trillions of trillions of gallons of water into a one-gallon bucket. Not possible!

With that stated, we are given enough information regarding God to know who He is, which is the Creator of all things. And we know what He desires by way of His attributes: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and the like. We know that because God reveals this to us through our hearts. He also speaks to us through the Word that was given to us shared by those chosen to write the Holy Scriptures. God inspired His chosen people to be a conduit to receive His messages and instructions through His Spirit. To a degree, we are capable of receiving His transmissions as well like a radio receives transmissions and signals. We were made by God with the capacity to receive what He sends to us.

We can also see God through the works of His hands. Even the skies reveal the works of His mighty hands. However, when we try to impose human-like qualities, appearances, or abilities upon God we actually dishonor Him because God is not a person but whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. In other words, we can’t fully know God but He completely and fully knows us in every imaginable way. The fact that we clearly see the works of His hands shows us volume about Him. The knowledge of the vine, the branches, and the fruit reveal hidden mysteries of our Creator. Seeing how other created beings and things operate reveal volume about His traits and character so even though we can’t fully know Him we know enough about Him to know what He expects of us, not only through the written word but through a template stamped on our hearts and soul.

I am actually convinced that our attempt to paint our picture or impression upon God might be more lethal rather than just accepting the fact that He is unknowable. We should accept the fact that He alone IS God and unchallengeable. When we revere God, we place ourselves in the rightful positions to receive what He offers. When we study the teachings of Christ you will be filled with the substance (Holy Spirit) that gives us this life and being. It comes directly from and through the Spirit of God and that IS GOD, our Maker. When you seek God with all your heart and all your soul, and with all your might, then it is God that does the revealing. We must come to Him in the proper manner if any doors are to be opened in the slightest manner. Again, if we remain connected with the vine, we will receive what God has, and what He does, and that is all we need to know on this side of eternity… Selah!