John 15:1-3 The greater the challenge, the greater the glory

“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 it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” John 15:1-3

Background

In this episode, Jesus taught about the essence and glory of the Christian life. Using the analogy of the vine, Jesus gave a warning against an ostensibly religious but fruitless way of life. Only when believers remain connected to the truths of Christ can they be purified to express the goodness of God and bear fruit, which is the glory of God. The glory of God is equivalent to the ability to love our enemies; it is the ability to persevere when all seem to be lost; it is to obey and press on when there is injustice; it is the ability to put the interests of others before our own. As God will ultimately reward every believer according to his fruit. Having a life goal and the right attitude towards the life’s challenges is key to obtaining that glory in heaven.

Observation

1.  “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” Jesus is the vine, the Father is the vinedresser and the branches represent people. The fruit represents the goodness of God expressed through the believer’s words and works. What the vinedresser is looking for is the fruit of God’s nature in the believer. However, not every branch is connected to the vine; not every person wants to be reconciled with God and walk in His ways. Those branches that do not bear the fruit of God’s righteous nature, He will take away. What does it mean by take away? It means failing to enter God’s Kingdom and experience eternal life and glory.

2.  “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” For those branches that bear fruit, the Father will prune and develop them so that they may bear even more fruit resulting in abundant living and glory. In the pruning process, the vinedresser does two things: remove excess leaves from the branches that bear fruit and remove those branches that do not bear fruit. Hence, there is a pruning process for the believer who bear fruit and pruning for the church by removing those that do not bear fruit. As the Father cuts off the unwanted leaves from the branches that bear fruit. In due time, the believer will produce more fruit and experience greater blessings.

Truths

1.  A true disciple will inmistakably bear the righteous nature of God. The fruit is the essence and the glory of the tree. The quality of the tree is judged by the quality of its fruit; not by its size or the number of branches it had. Similarly, the essence and glory of a person is revealed through his character and nature. Galatians 5:22 speaks of the fruit of the Spirit, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). But the fruit of darkness is “immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, and drunkenness.” (Galatians 5:19-20).

2.  The greater the pruning process, the greater the glory.The glory of a believer comes not from appearance of success, but from his perseverance in the midst of difficulties. The challenges of life is a double-edged sword. Depending on a person’s perspective, challenges either builds us up or it leaves one wounded and defeated. Hence, we must see difficulties not as a punishment of an unkind God but something God has ordained for a greater purpose. Having that in mind, no matter how great the challenges were, we must draw wisdom and grace from God to overcome. In God’s pruning process, we discover our weaknesses and learn to humble ourselves and progress. No amount of study and prayer can replace the effect of pruning or discipline in the believers’ growth. Hebrews 12:11 says, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

Having the right attitude towards life’s challenges is the key to growth and maturity. People who grumble and complain usually have stifling mindsets. The following are examples:

A defeatist’s mindset: Life is unfair. I am born a victim of circumstances and people.

A self-righteous mindset: People in general are crappy and evil, they are the cause of my troubles.

A low self-esteem: I am below average in ability. I can never make it on my own.

Such fail to see their own need for change and they indirectly blame God for their predicament. But if they turn their murmuring into praise for God, they would start to experience breakthroughs and their lives will soon turn around.

Applications

1.  Do a survey among people who knows you well. Ask them to name your greatest strength as well as weakness. Proceed to work on improving your weaknesses and check with them three months later. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the root causes and wounds of your weaknesses. This survey will give you an awareness of your present strengths and weaknesses so that you could depend on God to help you progress.

2.  Make a list of character traits that you want to work on in the coming months. Reflect on your current challenges. Do you see how some of your current challenges can be divine opportunities for growth?

Dear Lord, I understand that my ability does not reflect my glory. My glory is found in my willingness to humble myself and to allow Your grace to sanctify me. I make it my goal to bear the likeness of Jesus Christ in His love, wisdom and confidence. I ask for Your help to discipline me so that I may shine in the glory of God. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.