No Green Thumb (John 15:4-5)

I do not have a green thumb. Nearly everything I have ever planted has died. Thus, I marvel  at and admire my friends and neighbors who are able produce delectable fruits and vegetables, transforming their yards into veritable botanical gardens.

Through the years, well meaning friends have given me a variety of plants to transplant. Although I have followed their instructions to the letter, the result is often a withered and dying plant.

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 15:4-5

A branch that is separated from the main vine cannot survive on its own. The separated branch begins to discolor, losing its moisture content and drying, eventually becoming a distorted caricature of the original vine.

I know in my life, I have often strayed from the true vine of Jesus Christ. And in so doing, my life became a grotesque and hideous representation of my Lord. When others looked at me and observed my actions, they did not see an ambassador of Jesus Christ. They saw a gross distortion of what I wanted my God to be, a sad example of what a life disobedient and not abiding in God looks like.

It was only through God’s grace and mercy that He continued to accept me when I repented of my sins. He helped me to turn my life around to serve Him as a branch that abides in Him, the true vine.

Don’t become a grotesque representation of Jesus Christ. Abide in Him and allow Him to bear much fruit in your life.

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.