“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15: 1-8)

So the key question here today is this: are we fruitful branches or are we non-fruitful? Are we true disciples of Christ or are we just pretenders? Even though one might claim they are a believer, doesn’t mean that truly deep within their hearts that they fully commit themselves to be the disciples that Christ calls for all of us to be. The day we are born we are called to be His students and that’s exactly what a disciple is, a student. Someone who is continually learning and growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and what He wants us to do and what He wants so deeply for us and that’s for us to reach out to others who are lost in the darkness of the world’s lies and for that effort on His part we will gain eternal happiness, joy, and peace, His peace, not the world’s peace, but only the kind of peace that He can offer us.

Here Jesus reminds His followers, which includes all of us who proclaim to be His followers, that the only way in which that we can be fruitful and successful in life is if we abide in Him and only in Him. This is the only way that we can achieve anything in our lives, whether it’s big or small is if we totally abide in Him and follow His simple commands. Otherwise we will end up being like the non-fruitful branches that God will cast aside into a pile and burn. Which when translated means will be sent to hell for all eternity instead of spending eternity with our Father God in His kingdom. It’s important to understand that hell is important to Jesus and He’s serious when He warns us that this is where we will end up if we don’t follow His lead.

As dim as that thought might be of the threat of being thrown in the pile to be burned, Jesus offers us a way out and promises us grace and mercy as long as we agree to abide in Him and be willing to be true disciples in order to spread the glorious Word of the gospel of the Lord.

Christ understands that there are many, many roadblocks that Satan throws up along the way, but that’s why it’s so important that we abide in Him because when we do that, He’ll help guide us through all the traps that this insane world throws our way. This is why He offers us so much leeway through His grace and mercy knowing how difficult it is for us to avoid the temptations that today’s society throws at us. The lies that we are told make it sound easier to do what society says is true and not what is really true. This is because our human natures are lazy and easily swayed to take what looks like the easier path and sometimes it is, however, that easier path can lead us sadly, to eternal separation from God and that’s the last thing that our souls need or desire. Our souls are like a beautiful garden that Jesus wants to cultivate and keep free from weeds that will strangle the beauty of the garden. So by abiding in Jesus will help us to keep the garden flourishing so that it’s beauty doesn’t wither.

He wants for all of us to be fruitful branches, that’s His main goal for all of us. However, it’s up to the individual whether or not we will bear that fruit for the glory of God or we choose to be thrown in the pile to be burned. The time is now that we decide whether or not we will be true disciples of Jesus because if you think things are tough now, the days ahead of us are going to be even more challenging and the only way we’re going to get through it is if we make sure that we cast our pride aside and abide in Him and only Him. And the only way in which we can achieve that is by allowing Him to cleanse our hearts through His grace and mercy.

Abide in Jesus always and no matter how dark the world around you becomes, look up and you will see His face shining down on you.