“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.” John 15:5 (NIV)
This well known verse is one I’m afraid I forget to ponder as often as I should. It is a verse to live by, to deeply know and understand, but this understanding is not a one-size-fits-all for all life circumstances. This verse has the opportunity to be revisited, frequently, to ponder how God will encourage us anew in the midst of our ever-changing lives.
Apart from God we can do nothing. A life without God is like living in shades of gray. With God, our world comes alive, our purpose has meaning and we find passion, love, fulfillment, and peace. Although life with God does not take our troubles away, it gives us supernatural strength to walk through them.
We just celebrated Easter Sunday and the promise of eternal life. Eternal life does not begin as our time in this skin comes to an end, but it begins the moment we tell Jesus, “I’ve decided to follow you.” If you’ve never asked God to be your Lord and Savior but would like to, you can pray a simple and life-changing prayer to Him in the quietness of your heart that looks like this:
Lord Jesus, I want and I need you. I come to you today acknowledging that I need forgiveness and salvation. I believe you are the Son of God who died for my sins. I open my heart to you, and declare you to be the one and only God, my Lord and Savior.
Eternal life is a gift of never-ending strength we get to carry as a result of God being with us. Because God is kind, we get to be kind. Because God is strong, we are strong. Because God is gracious, we are gracious in His image. Because God is peace and love, we get to walk in peace and love when it doesn’t make sense to the world. When life gets hard, we have His written word in the Bible to reference for direction and hope, we have biblical community with one another for encouragement, and we have the gift of prayer to commune with God who is always available to us.
I pray this Easter we will remember that God Himself says we will bear much fruit when we remain in Him. Not just some fruit but much fruit. Everything is okay when you follow Jesus. Even when life feels dicey, which it will. God sees, He knows, and He cares. He has the most special way of making sure His people know it too. Through His Holy Spirit we get to experience encounters and moments with Him to remind us that He is for us and we are never alone. I pray we would all pause for a moment today to ask the Holy Spirit to come and reveal God’s love to us today.
- Britt Goff #wheatfulwednesday