The branch is totally, absolutely, completely dependent upon the Vine, not only for fruit, but for life. Whether because of pride or fear or some other reason, we as branches seem to struggle with being totally dependent on the Vine.
In what areas of your life are you acting independently of the Vine? I can usually determine these areas by just checking my prayer life. The items I have not prayed about-the people and problems, the relationships and responsibilities, the activities and attitudes, the schedules and stress, the entertainment and exercise, the pleasures and pastimes, the decisions and dreams, the desires and diets, anything and everything—are those areas of my life where I am not dependent upon Him. If my heart’s cry is for more of His fruitfulness, then one of the goals of my life needs to be more consistency in my dependency. Would you make this your goal, too?
As a teenager growing up, my room in our house was directly over Mother’s. At night I could see the lights from her room reflected on the trees outside my window. When I slipped downstairs hoping to talk to her a few minutes, I would find her shapely form bent beside her bed in prayer. It was useless to wait for her to rise because she would be there for hours on end, so I would trudge back up to my room. And no matter how early I awoke in the morning, I would see those lights from her window once again reflected on the trees outside. When I tumbled down the stairs, I would find her seated at her big, flat-top desk, earnestly studying one of the fourteen different translations of the Bible spread out around her. My mother chose to make abiding in Christ one of the priorities of her life.
Mother’s abiding was rooted in a love relationship with Jesus that was the secret of her life. As a result of her abiding, and the obedience that was integrated into it, the hallmark of Mother’s life was joy. Her face radiated it! Her eyes sparkled with it! And I’m left to wonder . . . what outward evidence of my inner relationship with Jesus do my children see?
