abiding in Jesus

John 15

John 15:1
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser."

The Father is intimately involved in our being pruned so as to bear fruit.
He does not toss us into the world and say "go bear fruit!" and hope it works, nor expect us to scrounge up the ability to bear fruit on our own. He Himself is the pruner, the shaper of the branches.

John 15:4
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."

The life of the vine must course through the branch for it to stay alive and to bear fruit.

John 15:7
"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

If Jesus' life becomes my life, and His Words become my thoughts, then I will wish what He wishes, and my prayers will be ones that God delights to answer.

Without the vine, the branch dies; it has no source of life and nutrition apart from connection to the vine.  So Christ is the source of ongoing life and spiritual sustenance to the Christian.  You cannot expect to grow in your Christian life or to mature or to develop in grace without a living, ongoing, connection to the Vine, to Christ.

This pictures for us a life of constantly seeing, loving, and submitting to Christ, knowing Him in an increasingly intimate way, and reveling in the benefits of His work for us.

John 15:8
"By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."

A true disciple becomes like his Master. You become more like those with whom you spend the most time. If we are to become like Christ, we must make it a priority to spend TIME with Him. Relationships do not "maintain"; they either grow or dwindle.

John 15:9-10
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love."

Love. Abiding in Jesus' love speaks of an ongoing relationship with Him, which He says will consist of obeying what He commands you.

John 15:11-12
"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

And obeying Jesus' commands is the path to true joy.
One of His primary commands to us is to love our Christian brethren sacrificially. For each of them is also bought by Christ, loved by the Father, and connected to the same Vine as I am.