I Amናሙና

Indoor plants became a big trend in the past few years. Not only can you see beautiful flowers and succulents outside, but you can have them hanging in your room, sitting on your desk, or on your windowsills. Buying the plants is the easy part; keeping them alive…that’s another story. Jesus often used plants and trees as imagery when he told stories, and he did the same for his seventh and final I Am statement when he said: “I am the true vine.” Jesus went on to say that the branches on the vine that do not bear fruit will be cut off, but those that do bear fruit will be pruned and taken care of. We are the branches that Jesus is talking about. Jesus is saying that He is the true source of life, and we have to stay close to him in to stay alive and live well. Just like a houseplant is going to die if it isn’t taken care of, if we don’t take care of our relationship with Jesus, we aren’t going to bear fruit and our faith will suffer. In Jesus, we find fruitful, flourishing life!

Challenge: The fruit that we produce as a result of our faith in Jesus is called the “Fruit of the Spirit.” Check out Galatians 5:22-23. What fruits are evident in your life? Which ones do you need to work on more? Identify 1-2 that you want to see improvement in and ask God to strengthen those in you today.