John 14-16
Once again the Gospel of John overwhelms us, like trying to get a drink from a firehose. I would therefore urge us all to spend some extra time — quite a lot of extra time — on these few chapters of John (and the next), prayerfully reading and rereading what Jesus has to say and letting it all soak in.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:5
I expect that most of us are somewhat familiar with this verse. We’ve read it before, multiple times. We’ve heard it before, too, with sermons on the vine and branches, bearing fruit, etc. And we nod our heads in assent to the truth of Jesus’ words. But my own lived experience, coupled with my observation of many others, is that we continually need to be reminded of this truth, because otherwise we have a tremendous capacity to try to “live the Christian life” on our own. Oh, yes, we may pray for Jesus’ assistance, but when it comes right down to it, where “the rubber meets the road”, we try to go it alone. Yet Jesus tells us right here that any attempt to follow Him while disconnected from Him is futile — for apart from Me you can do nothing! So we need to carefully evaluate our relationship with Jesus Himself. Are we abiding in Him? Is He abiding in us? If not, then our best efforts will only turn us into Pharisees, and I think we all know that does not end well. So it is time to lay aside the burden of striving to follow Jesus without Jesus. Let Him in. Let Him lead. Let Him do.
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