Often in a sermon or in your personal study, you come across scripture that catches your eye. John 15: 5 is one of those verses, for in it Jesus shares the following analogy:
“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 15:5 NKJV)
What would life be like without Jesus?
Life without Jesus retains no hope of Heaven. It would be life without peace with God or guidance for living. Life without Jesus would be life without purpose and life without forgiveness. Without Jesus, God would have no family on earth, no company of the redeemed – purchased by his blood and led by his example.
But Jesus did come from heaven and he has died for our sins. The vine is here – what about the branches?
Will we join ourselves to Him and abide in Him? Jesus said that ‘apart from Him, we can do nothing”. It seems to me that we should struggle to understand what Jesus did do in his life of service and then apply His example to our own lives. Instead of looking into the sky, as the disciples did when Jesus ascended into heaven, we, too, have things to do in the kingdom of God.
Without Christ, we are powerless, defenceless, and helpless. God has adopted us and has become our Father through Jesus Christ. This is our incentive for serving Him as he grants us the ability and strength to do so. But to fully serve, we must first fully submit to God’s will in our lives, as revealed through Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul said that “for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” (1 Corinthians 8:6 NKJV) And, “For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 3:8 NKJV)
It is then only through Jesus that we are able to address God as our heavenly Father and that he is empowered to adopt us as His own. May we express our dependence upon the Lord in our faithful obedience to his will, drawing inner strength from the high privilege of life ‘in Christ’.
“Without Christ” is not where I want to be – come eternity.
Port Colborne, ON