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The Grapevine from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Some people have the gift of writing a thousand words without conveying anything meaningful. Have you ever tried to research something and read page after page of documentation and still can't even find what it does? 

For instance, try and compare different versions of Microsoft Office, and you will find lengthy pages of writing like: "Accomplish your goals! Growing with you! Safe and secure! Save time for what matters! One solution for all your devices!" Yes, but what is it, dog food? I face things like this every week, and it is horribly frustrating. 

In stark contrast, Jesus used easily understood, familiar imagery in His teachings that people would comprehend. His parables may look simple on the surface, but they are layered and deep, and there is always more to see when you look closer. You can study it for thirty years and still see something new. Let's look at His teaching on grapevines.

(John 15:1–2 NKJV)  "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.

Those two Bible verses contain so much within them. Jesus was often inspired by things they were near at the time, like watching the poor widow put her two mites into the temple treasury brought a teaching on giving. Or, at the Feast of Tabernacles, as the priest approached the altar and poured out the symbolic water, Jesus cried, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."

Here, Jesus used a grapevine to illustrate a spiritual truth. Grapevines were extremely important in ancient Israel and very common. The image symbolized national pride, much like the stars and stripes on the US flag. 

Coins were minted with grapevines on them. 

A great golden grapevine decorated the front of the temple over 100 feet high with clusters of grapes taller than a man. Perhaps they were passing by it when Jesus taught this. 

Jesus said that He was the true grapevine. He is the Vine, and we are branches. Jesus brings life to everything connected to Him; the only requirement is that we bear fruit. But what fruit? The Fruit of the Spirit:

(Galatians 5:22–23 NKJV)  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control... 

These are internal things, and as you abide in Jesus Christ, they will naturally increase in your life. The life force of Jesus literally flows through believers and causes goodness to grow within them. In fact, you had better have some fruit. For the Father is the vinedresser, and branches that do not bear fruit, He cuts them away and burns them in the fire. 

There is a lot of work in properly maintaining grapevines. Sylvia and I had eighteen Muscadine grapevines here that we cared for before we got a puppy and learned that grapes are poisonous to dogs. There is a lot of meticulous trimming and care that goes into growing vines, and no one plants a grapevine to look at dead branches and leaves. They are after the fruit. 

(John 15:4 NKJV)  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.

A branch that breaks away from the vine soon dies, but as we abide in Jesus, His life abides in us, eternal life. The branches are provided with everything needed to produce fruit. Also, our fruit doesn't have to be perfect, but we should have some. 

You could say, well, that's very strict, have fruit or burn. But let's look closer and just pick one from the list, the first fruit mentioned. Love. We find it ingrained all through Scripture. Without love, there is no relationship with God. Consider these:

Jesus Christ said: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34–35 NKJV).  

The Apostle Paul wrote: "But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another" (1 Thessalonians 4:9 NKJV).

The Apostle Peter wrote: "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV).

The Apostle John wrote: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:7–8 NKJV).

If you have no love for others, you don't yet know God, for it's kind of His main thing. Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John all agreed on this. No excuses will be accepted for having no fruit when the Father shows up to trim the vine. Notice all these are internal. You are not required to be attractive, slim, muscular, or tall. But you are required to show love toward others. To treat others like you would like to be treated.  

(John 15:5–6 NKJV)  "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. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

It is a two-way relationship. We abide in Him, and He abides in us. Branches cannot bear fruit without remaining connected to the vine. Dead branches are taken away and burned. Remember Judas Iscariot, who was an Apostle that walked with Jesus Christ for three and a half years, but he never changed, and in the end, he was lost (John 17:12).

(John 15:7–8 NKJV)  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

When you think about it, it is downright silly for one branch to complain about another one or to judge another branch's fruit. That's the Father's job. Even the branches producing fruit, He prunes back so they will be more productive. 

Fruit production isn't something you can measure quickly, either. It takes about five years for a new vine to start producing grapes. In the same way, genuine conversion cannot be measured by a hasty decision but by long-term fruit production. This is the point of the parable of the soils. 

(Matthew 13:3–8 NKJV)  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Three out of the four soils failed to produce a harvest. That is a whopping 75% failure. The good ones that did produce yielded various levels, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. That makes this verse make sense: 

(Matthew 7:13–14 NKJV)  "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

One requirement is certain: learn to show love to others. Be kind, gentle, peaceful, and faithful. Let your yes actually mean yes, and your no mean no. It doesn't seem to require us to have all the fruits listed, and each of us can have a different amount. But you can never go wrong with love, for love covers a multitude of sins. 

(John 15:9–11 NKJV)  "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to abide in You. I want to work together with You in what You are doing today and to produce fruit in my life. Please show me the things that need to be changed, and give me the grace to do it. Today, I am Yours. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!