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“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” —John 15:5

John 15 — Staying Connected to the Life That Sustains Us

As Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure, He wanted them to understand something vital: even though they would no longer see Him with their eyes, their connection to Him would remain unbroken. To help them grasp this truth, He chose an image they all knew well — a vine and its branches.

Jesus is the true vine. We are the branches. And everything depends on that connection.

You don’t need to be a gardener to understand the picture. A branch cannot survive, let alone bear fruit, unless it remains attached to the vine. Cut off from its source, it withers. Connected, it flourishes. In the same way, our spiritual life depends entirely on staying close to Jesus. He is the One who nourishes us, strengthens us, and enables us to bear fruit that reflects His character.

But Jesus also makes it clear that not all fruit is good fruit. The religious leaders of His day looked impressive from a distance. They appeared disciplined, devout, and spiritually productive. They guarded traditions, enforced rules, and projected an image of holiness. Yet Jesus exposed the truth: their fruit was rotten because their hearts were disconnected from God.

They honoured God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. They looked fruitful, but they weren’t rooted in the true vine.

It’s a sobering reminder. It is possible to look busy for God while drifting away from Him. It is possible to appear spiritually productive while bearing no real fruit at all.

Jesus invites us into a different way — not striving, not performing, but remaining. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” Our task is not to manufacture fruit but to stay connected to the One who produces it in us. Spiritual disciplines — prayer, Scripture, worship, quiet reflection, sharing our faith — are not boxes to tick but lifelines that keep us rooted in Christ.

And something beautiful happens when we begin to bear fruit. Jesus tells us that His Father, the Master Gardener, lovingly tends to our lives. He sees where we are flourishing and where we are struggling. He knows what needs to be pruned — habits, attitudes, distractions, or patterns that hinder growth. Pruning is rarely comfortable, but it is always purposeful. God removes what is unhelpful so that we can bear even more fruit.

He knows what we are capable of becoming. He knows the harvest He intends to bring through us. And He works patiently, tenderly, intentionally to shape us into fruitful disciples.

When we stay connected to Jesus, the cycle continues: connection leads to growth, growth leads to fruit, fruit leads to deeper intimacy, and deeper intimacy leads to even more fruit.

This is the life Jesus offers — not frantic effort, but abiding presence; not self‑reliance, but dependence; not empty activity, but genuine transformation.

He is the vine. We are the branches. And in Him, we flourish.