Sticks: Root Your Decisions in Godly Wisdomಮಾದರಿ

Staying Connected to Jesus for a Fruitful Life

“Am I deconstructing my faith?”

I’ve been hearing this question a lot lately from Christians. Although the question comes in different forms, these people share a common heartbeat in their self-examination. Far from walking away from their faith, they are instead experiencing a re-centering of Christ in their lives and rebuilding their faith practices. They intentionally uncover ways their faith is incongruent with Jesus and bravely take steps to course-correct.

The common denominators in these conversations are comments like these:

“I feel disconnected from a faith community.”
“I feel a divide between my beliefs and my actions.”
“I see incongruence between the words and behavior of other Christians.”

If you relate to these feelings like I do - take heart. Jesus is our Cosmic Gardener. He knows good soil, he has deep roots, and his water supply never runs dry.

Jesus knows how to grow anyone. And when he produces fruit in our lives, it acts like love and feels like joy.

In John 15, Jesus calls himself the True Vine. Another word for true could be authentic. Jesus is authentic; what an incredible reminder and encouragement for those of us wondering who is the real deal. Jesus’ comments also suggest that there are vines who are not authentic. Sometimes, we become so accustomed to fakeness that it’s hard to remember Jesus is the bona fide Savior of the world. He is the only growth agent to our seeds of faith, and only he has the power to sustain our growth.

When the work of bearing fruit feels overwhelming or unlikely, remember who is tending to your care and supplying what you need. The burden is not on you to produce or create the fruit; you are simply called to bear or bring forth the fruit Jesus is creating in you, the branch.

While the Garden of Eden trees symbolized a test about which fruit we will consume, the True Vine test in John 15 is about which fruit we will produce. In Eden, the fruit created a decision tree: to either pick and consume fruit that would lead to wisdom—to choose God’s way—or to take wisdom into our own hands and be separated from him. In John 15, during Jesus’ sermon, the issue is whether we will produce good, lasting fruit or become like withered firewood, consumed by the flames of fire.

The good news for us is that producing fruit that lasts doesn’t depend on our excellence. Remember—we’re not the vine. We’re branches. When we are connected to the True Vine, receiving nutrients and life from him, we can’t help but bear fruit that acts like love and feels like joy.

Prayer: God, sometimes I don’t know if my life reflects you to the world or not. Help me trust that your Son is the one producing good works in me and that all I am called to do is abide in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.