Upper Loft Meditation – John 15

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” – John 15:4

The cultural choir shouts out: “Be successful. Be all you want to be.” So much of this hype is the promotion of image and not of substance. The gardeners’ dilemma is that the plant, with the best fertilizer, from the best seed, even bathed in bottled water will give forth only a beautiful flower. But, there will be no fruit. The verdict is that for all the great effort and special benefits, the flower will die with no seed. For where there is no fruit there is no seed.

Fruit comes from remaining in Christ. What does it mean to remain?

It means to stay. You do not wander off, saying to yourself, “I’ll only be gone a short while.” Remember the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).

It means to persist. You hang on when adversity blows against you and it would be easy to let go. You stick and endure, because there is nothing else that will give life. Remember Peter’s response to Jesus when many disciples left. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6)

It means to hold on and God promises He will not let go of you.

As you examine the fruit in your life, is there evidence to you of the presence of Christ?

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