I Am the Vine
We have heard this story many times. I think we understand how we must remain attached to the vine and that the vine is Jesus. But none of us have experience of how to grow grapes.
With a little study I discovered that grapes grow wild when they have the right soil and the right weather. There is only one problem, grapes that grow wild are very bitter. Have you ever taken a bite of a lemon? It is very bitter. But wild grapes taste even more bitter than a lemon. So where do we get the sweet grapes, we get from the grocery store?
By taste testing. Yes, you taste the grapes. If you find sweet grapes those are the ones you want to keep. So, you cut off that branch and graft it on to another vine that is producing sweet grapes. You cut off the bitter branch and throw it in the fire.
The good branches sometimes need pruning. They try to grow too many leaves or other little branches that take too much food from the main vine. So those branches that are pruned are thrown in the fire. That means those who remain on the vine produce good fruit. If they are on the main vine, they will produce good fruit.
Our life is like that. When we are attached to the vine, that is attached to Jesus, we will produce good fruit. Sometimes we may have too many branches or extra leaves that are not needed. They need to be pruned too. All of this is needed so that we produce good fruit.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen