Growthtrac Community

[danielle]

I just finished reading a non-growthtrac article called First things first. It talks about putting God first in our lives. The last paragraph reads:

"we need to consider this statement Jesus made about failing to bear fruit: "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 15:2).

Jesus was not talking about a tree. He was talking about a vine. A vine basically has no other value than that of bearing fruit. You can't build a house with wood that comes from a vine. You can't make furniture out of it either. If you try to use it as fuel in a fire, it flames up for a moment, and then it is gone. A vine was solely created to bear fruit. In the same way, we are put here on this earth to bring forth fruit.

I want to ask you today, are you an empty vine just bringing forth fruit to yourself? Remember, life is not merely a matter of years. It is also what you do with those years. And Jesus, the True Vine, is where it all begins."

If I'm not mistaken, I thought John says we are the branches???? I don't see anywhere in the Bible where it says we are the vine. Please correct me if I'm wrong. (I realize he emphasizes Jesus is the true vine).

[Davep]

If I'm not mistaken, I thought John says we are the branches?

I think Paul also talk about us "Gentiles" being branches which are grafted into the orginal tree, i.e. the "Jews".

I agree with you on the "fruit" thing; Faith without Fruit is no faith to begin with.

[danielle]

Davep,
you mean you agree with the author of the article? I only posed the question at the end.

[Janine]

We are useless, dried-up, and dead when we're not receiving nourishment from the Vine.

Whether grafted in, or naturally grown in a good & logical spot on the Vine... or even if we're a "sucker" growing where logic says we shouldn't... we're all gonna get our proper pruning from the Father - the Vinedresser.

The threat about being cut off if we don't bear fruit isn't an idle one. But, that shouldn't give us ulcers. If we are grafted in to the Vine, being nourished by Him, we will bear fruit.

It would be nice if we'd shut up & hold still & let the Vine grow and the Vinedresser do His work on us :;): . The fruit would be more plentiful, I think.

[danielle]

Correct. So are we the vine or the branches?

[Wynne]

Jesus is "de-vine"... and we are "de-branch". :laugh:

Is that not so, dear?

Was the author of the article attempting to make the opposite point?

[danielle]

I thought he was trying to make an opposite point according to his closing statement:

"I want to ask you today, are you an empty vine just bringing forth fruit to yourself? Remember, life is not merely a matter of years. It is also what you do with those years. And Jesus, the True Vine, is where it all begins."

I thought he was having us ask ourselves if we are vines bringing for fruit when we are in fact branches.

[Wynne]

Oh! I see.

I believe he was simply making up a slightly broader metaphor. :;):