The Secret of the Fruitful Vine
by: Charles R. Swindoll
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In our home in California, Cynthia and I had a couple of fruit trees in our backyard that supplied our table with luscious, homegrown grapefruits and oranges. Some years, the trees bore more fruit than others. And every year, the growth of those trees reminded me about what it means to grow to be more like Christ.
The secret to growing Christlike is found in the tiny word "abide." Like a branch that clings to the tree for its life, we attach ourselves to Him when we abide. When we are attached to Him, we grow whatever He grows.
I would guess you already know what that fruit looks like. Galatians 5:22–23 gives us a wonderful list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Oh, there are no better traits! But don't try to produce these traits on your own. The only thing you can do as a child of God is depend upon the Lord to produce them in you.
As I looked more carefully at those trees in our backyard, I discovered an unmistakable pattern: Our trees bore the most fruit when they had been pruned the previous season. When we, with care and tough love, cut back the twigs, dead branches, and extra foliage that took energy away from the fruit-bearing branches, the tree received more sunlight and gained more room for growth.
That's also the way it is with the Father. The secret of the fruitful vine, as Jesus revealed in John 15, is in the pruning. Some of you are being pruned right now. God is cutting away everything that is keeping you from growth. It's painful, isn't it? But an unkept vine can never produce good fruit, so your branch must be kept clean. That means dealing with those areas where we fail, those parts of our personalities that are not pleasing to God, and, in some cases, tend toward sin.
How might God be pruning you for growth today? If you see an area that needs cleaning, acknowledge it. Got any sin that needs to be confessed? Any area of your life from which you're excluding Him? If so, repent of it, and claim His forgiveness. While you probably don't see the fruit right now, it will come. In fact, the fruit comes only through God's careful pruning.
But growing fruit means more than just pruning. It also has to do with depending dailyâ€â€moment by moment, day by day, month by monthâ€â€on the Lord Himself. Make it your determined purpose to stay close to the Vine this year, and get ready for Him to grow the fruit of His life in you.
Thanks so much for your fellowship with Insight for Living during all the seasons of this coming year. We're in for a rich season of growth this year as we focus on growing the fruit of God's Spirit in our monthly newsletter. Are you ready?
• Insight for Living (Friday, March 01, 2002)
http://www.oneplace.com/Articles/Print-Friendly.asp?article_id=200
by: Charles R. Swindoll
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In our home in California, Cynthia and I had a couple of fruit trees in our backyard that supplied our table with luscious, homegrown grapefruits and oranges. Some years, the trees bore more fruit than others. And every year, the growth of those trees reminded me about what it means to grow to be more like Christ.
The secret to growing Christlike is found in the tiny word "abide." Like a branch that clings to the tree for its life, we attach ourselves to Him when we abide. When we are attached to Him, we grow whatever He grows.
I would guess you already know what that fruit looks like. Galatians 5:22–23 gives us a wonderful list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Oh, there are no better traits! But don't try to produce these traits on your own. The only thing you can do as a child of God is depend upon the Lord to produce them in you.
As I looked more carefully at those trees in our backyard, I discovered an unmistakable pattern: Our trees bore the most fruit when they had been pruned the previous season. When we, with care and tough love, cut back the twigs, dead branches, and extra foliage that took energy away from the fruit-bearing branches, the tree received more sunlight and gained more room for growth.
That's also the way it is with the Father. The secret of the fruitful vine, as Jesus revealed in John 15, is in the pruning. Some of you are being pruned right now. God is cutting away everything that is keeping you from growth. It's painful, isn't it? But an unkept vine can never produce good fruit, so your branch must be kept clean. That means dealing with those areas where we fail, those parts of our personalities that are not pleasing to God, and, in some cases, tend toward sin.
How might God be pruning you for growth today? If you see an area that needs cleaning, acknowledge it. Got any sin that needs to be confessed? Any area of your life from which you're excluding Him? If so, repent of it, and claim His forgiveness. While you probably don't see the fruit right now, it will come. In fact, the fruit comes only through God's careful pruning.
But growing fruit means more than just pruning. It also has to do with depending dailyâ€â€moment by moment, day by day, month by monthâ€â€on the Lord Himself. Make it your determined purpose to stay close to the Vine this year, and get ready for Him to grow the fruit of His life in you.
Thanks so much for your fellowship with Insight for Living during all the seasons of this coming year. We're in for a rich season of growth this year as we focus on growing the fruit of God's Spirit in our monthly newsletter. Are you ready?
• Insight for Living (Friday, March 01, 2002)
http://www.oneplace.com/Articles/Print-Friendly.asp?article_id=200