Names of Jesus | Advent DevotionalSample

Saturday, December 21 John 15 | I Am the True Vine Author: David Bibee

Our neighbor across the street had over-planted their garden this Spring, so we inherited a watermelon and tomato plant, each already planted in giant pots. Regrettably, I didn’t give either of them anywhere near the attention they needed. There was some water here, maybe a bit of fertilizer there, but with lots of travel and other concerns, those poor plants largely languished. Yet, even without my best efforts, we still ended up with at least fifteen or twenty cherry tomatoes and two tiny watermelons (I should say, our toddler ended up with twenty tomatoes, having eaten them off the vine before I could get to them).

I’ll admit that my efforts as a “vinedresser” became more pronounced when I saw the first watermelon forming on the plant I’d neglected the last six weeks. But I didn’t reinforce the vine. After a heavy rain, I came out the next morning and found that lovely little watermelon on the ground and cracked open; nothing left to do but leave him for the birds. The experience was helpful because it provided a visible witness to the meaning of this passage. Jesus introduces himself as “the true vine” and calls the Father the “vinedresser.” With such a simple image, Jesus has given us everything necessary for a life of power and godliness.

In the first case, he establishes our security upon the love of God for Jesus. It is this love into which we’ve been invited—eternal love from before the foundation of the world. The “Father is glorified [that] you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love” (John 15:8-9). The love of the Father for the Son motivates all God's actions on our behalf. And God intends to make us fruitful in good deeds, in godly children, and in a multitude of converts won for Christ.

But we must abide. The Lord speaks of himself as the source of our vitality. All growing power, all spiritual nourishment, and every good grace from God that we experience flows through him to us. We are not the vine. We cannot hold ourselves against the storms that rage nor even provide for ourselves the basics of what we need to live. We are branches, useful only when we are connected to the broad strength of the central vine. Without this, we can do nothing but shrivel and die.

But what a glorious vine we have, more fruitful than we could ever have imagined. From those eleven gathered with Jesus, the first branches that extended from Christ, now—twenty centuries past—billions have come to know Christ, taking their place among the ever-emerging blossoms of converts and covenant children.

In our day, things are turning dark once again as our cultures are abandoning their Christian heritage. Even in formerly Christian societies, the hatred of the world that Jesus warns about is beginning to heat up and may boil over. We have hated our fathers and their ways, so brothers will now turn against them. In the midst of worldly rage, we must abide in the vine and the love that he has given us for one another. Just as the disciples lived amidst the devastating persecution of their day, we must sacrificially serve our brothers and sisters as we weather the difficulty with courage, knowing that Jesus has said, “Take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

In your life, there isn’t anything more important than abiding in Christ. There isn’t anything more important for your family than you abiding in Christ. There isn’t anything more important for your neighbors than you abiding in Christ. Christ has given you his all! This Advent, may we all give back to him everything that is his due.