“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
“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.
We all want fruitful lives, but how to achieve fruitfulness and what fruitfulness means will vary based on who you ask.
A fruitful life is not achieved by adding on Jesus as if He were some special ingredient; we must not view or treat Christ like fertiliser.
A fruitful life is the result of being intertwined with Jesus and nourished by Him so that we bear much fruit.
An ongoing, nourishing relationship is how the True Vine makes its branches fruitful – it is how Jesus makes His disciples fruitful.
And beware: that there is one True Vine tells us that there are also false vines in this world which promise much but would see us deceived, withered and burned.
Take time to reflect: What do remaining and abiding in Jesus look like for you today?