The Wineyard

 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes  so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.   “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.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

John 15:1‭-‬8 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.

John 15:16

What becomes very clear from the passages above is that we are meant to bear fruit. The whole point in planting a vine is to enjoy the fruit, either by partaking in the eating thereof or making wine etc. In fact a fruitless vine is a sad looking thing, it's purpose is to bear fruit that can be enjoyed by many. The same can be said of us, so what can we learn about the Wineyard as it relates to our lives, purpose etc.

First off we need to be part of the vine in order to bear any fruit, and we note that Jesus is the true vine, and only by staying in or part of that vine can we possibly bear fruit, and God the Father is the gardener pruning the branches to be more fruitful. 

A grapevine is an interesting plant in that it is most often trained to grow along trellises, it is a creeper and to take the form that the gardener wants it to take requires that it is supported by the treliss it grows on.  The art of grafting allows for the exchange of less desirable cultivars for those with better characteristics, but keeping the same strong solid and orginal root system. Grapevines can produce fruit in abundance within a short period of time and last for over 30 years. Vines are pruned annually in the winter months (SA) to allow new growth and truthfulness from new buds. If pruning does not take place only very small bunches are produced and lack in quality in comparison to those that are pruned.

I don't know about you but when I concider the vine community comes to mind, I have never seen grapes on a single branch? Vines are prolific and plentiful covering a large area. Grapes grow in clusters and in bunches in close proximity to each other. The whole vine is connected via branches to the roots and depend on the nutrition of the sap from the root to be strong and healthy.  That's why dead or unfruitfil branches are cut off or pruned, because the community as a whole benefits in the health of each other. The whole vine is part of this community, roots and branches, so part of this community is Jesus, and us as diciples and we have to remain in the vine (Jesus) to be fruitful. Apart from HIM we can do nothing. 

So the question arises, what does it look like to remain in Jesus and how do we do it?

I have spent some time asking God the Father to show me and have some thoughts based on reading scripture, as the one quoted above. Additionally I have read, and looked at the book of Colossians and HE has spoken to my heart whilst doing the Journey course and going through the manual and I will share some of these SECRETS in my next blog.



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