“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 ESV
We have probably heard this verse in one way or another and thought about ourselves and Jesus. Yet too often we just think about ourselves, me, and Jesus. It is a nice and comforting image about having the divine vine providing for me, giving me a place and the security that I need to flourish but too often we miss the ‘es’ as in branches. Too often we don’t realize that this is a picture of Christ formed community. It is a picture of a community that can thrive if we recognize our place in this community.
It is a struggle for those who don’t believe in Christ to see how remaining in Christ can give us life. To often the suggestion to skip being part of the community of Christ is more alluring than skipping passing fancies that we will do for a time but in reality we one day will be unable to continue with or will be taken away from us. Sometimes it is a matter of the time, but we as a community should be making an effort to provide time and space for the community to happen. The question is not what is my priority, it is what is our priority? To make any changes we have to look at the problem together and work together or we just perpetuate the same mindset that has got us here.
We need to take time to see the us as part of the vine and not just me and Jesus.
