Jesus: I AM the Vine

Let me ask you a question…

Who are you?

Not… what is your name, what you do for a living, where you grew up or what role you play in your family.

Who are you?

This question cuts to our very core because it’s a question about our primary identity. Perhaps the greatest struggle any of us will ever have is understanding who we are.

We talk about finding ourselves. We talk about being authentic, being real or being unique. You hear about people who are searching for themselves & maybe even you have said these kind of things about yourself.

Who does Jesus say you are?

If you’ve ever felt lost or if you’ve ever struggled with who you are, the good news is that Jesus reveals who you are & who you were created to be when He tells us who He is.

In John 15.5, Jesus says…

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus takes something very common & well known to try to convey to his closest disciples who He is & what He is like. This time, he says he is the vine. You may or may not be familiar with grapevines. But the idea is simple. The best grapes are produced by a quality, well tended grapevine. And here, Jesus says He is the TRUE grapevine.

What Jesus means is that He is the source. He’s the lifeblood. He’s the one that gives life, the good life, the life that flows from God.

And then Jesus begins to tell us who we are.  Who we are is found in who He is. If He is the vine, then we are the branches. And the question Jesus presents us with is simple… Are you connected to me? Are you remaining in me? Is your life fruitful? Are you experiencing what life in Christ is like? This is what it looks like… this is what it means to be Christian, to be a Christ follower… its life connected to Jesus, in the presence of Jesus, producing the fruit of Jesus.

[Tweet “Who you are is found in WHO you’re connected to. #IAM #Jesus “]

In his book, Into the Silent Land, Martin Laird says this about Jesus’ words here…

“We might liken the depths of the human to the sponge in the ocean. The sponge looks without and sees ocean; it looks within and sees ocean. The sponge is immersed in what at the same time flows through it. The sponge would not be a sponge were this not the case. Some call this differentiating union: the more we realize we are one with God the more we become ourselves, just as we are, just as we were created to be. The Creator is outpouring love, the creation, the love outpoured.”

^{– Martin Laird, Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation} 

Are our lives immersed in the ocean of God to the point that what fills us is Jesus & what pours out of us is Jesus? This is what life is like that is connected to Jesus, lived in the presence of Jesus producing the fruit of Jesus.

Who are you connected to?

How do you know if you are connected to Jesus the Vine?

Here’s a test. You always find out who you really are when adversity comes. Adversity has a way of revealing what is most true about us. And here’s what I want to be true of you & me…

That when life puts the pressure on, when we feel squeezed, what comes out of us when the pressure is on us reveals that what’s in us is Jesus.

I know grapes have been connected to the grapevine because when I squeeze them pure, sweet grape juice comes out.

What comes from you when the pressure is on you?

Is it Jesus?

When you’re life comes under pressure, what is revealed in you? What comes out of you? Is there really Jesus in you? Jesus will flow out of you if that’s what’s in your heart right now. When we come back to the start, when we come back to a real relationship with Jesus, that’s what’s revealed when life puts the pressure on. Jesus comes out. We drip Jesus. And let me tell you, it’s alarming to people. It catches their attention. Because what they expect is one thing but what they see revealed in you is something else altogether. They expect you to be mad. They expect you to act out. They expect you to be angry. But when they see Jesus coming out of you… they are blown away.

[Tweet “What comes FROM you when the pressure is ON you who reveals what’s IN you. “]

What are you filling yourself up with? That’s what will come out.

This week, why not make every effort to fill yourself with Jesus.

Connect to the VINE.

When Jesus was crushed on the cross, what came from him was forgiveness. He said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. What dripped from Jesus on the cross was nothing less than pure Love. Perfect Grace.

What came FROM Jesus when the pressure was ON Jesus revealed what was IN Jesus. It was Love.

May the same be true of us as we strive to be transformed into the image of Christ.