I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit.
John 15 ;5
Jesus compares himself to the vine and us as the braches of that vine. The branches can only grow and bear fruit if they are connected to the vine. Then the branches get the juice and the nutrients they need to grow.
Jesus wants us to be closely connected with Him, similer to a branch, and recieve everything we need in order to be fruitful. But we are not naturally connected with him and we have our own will. He knows us: It is difficult for us to be constantly closely connected with him.
Sometimes we go our own way. We make many decisions without Him. We work out of our own strenth, set our goals ourselves and often do only what we want. Sometimes we take a little time for him and think that’s enough. But he wants more, much, much more
Therefore, He gives us the Holy Spirit. He is like the sap that runs in the vines, it is the power of God. He wants to rule our hearts and guide us. He is our counsel, comforter, helper, friend. He wants to teach and show what is important and remind us of everything that Jesus told us. Without him it’s hard to stay a committed Christian. There are too many Christians, when faith happens only in their head or in ceremonies and religious rites.
No, we need the sap of the vine! Without him, our faith will die, the branches dry up and are thrown away.
If we are we closely connected with him the fruit will come by itself. Everything that we needed in order to grow is there. The branches may work their hardest, it will not grow any faster, or they may rest, the grapes grow anyway. It is only important that the sap flows.
If Jesus is in us, and not being driven by sin, pride or stubbornness, then all will grow. He directs our thoughts, our will, our feelings. He determines our steps and words. And we become doers of the word, not just hearers. If we act how accordimg to His will, it will become our nature.
Through reading the Word of God and through prayer Jesus will grow in us and continue to get bigger. If we submit to Him, He can do His will in and through us. Through fellowship with other Christians we are formed and trained. So we bear fruit that remains forever, without us constantly fighting and toiling. We need to be like little children at their parents’ house: You do not need to seek bread and milk, they are supplied with it.

Thank you, Jesus, You are in my heart. Yes, you shall hold the first place and be my Lord and King. I want to do everyting together with you and have your counsel. I want to be your image here on the earth and do your work and bear fruit for you. How good that you’ve already done all that is necessary for that!

Bible Reading Today: Psalm 100, 1-5