"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:4-8
We are all designed to bear fruit. Why? To bring God glory. It's not about me... it's not even about you. The bigger the fruit, the more richness in color, it is all designed by and designed to point to God. If I make it about me, I will eventually fail and bring others down with me. God sent His Son to show us love, to train us how to love, then He left us with His Holy Spirit who lives in each of us and equips us to love.
In the verse above, Jesus uses the word 'remain' eight times, I think He uses it so many times because He knows it is one of the hardest things for us to do. Remain, stay, dwell.... we have too much to do!! That's where the pruning comes in. If we remain in God, He will prune away any immature commitments and lesser priorities to make room for an even greater abundance for His glory. The yoke we place on ourselves is heavy and tortuous. Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
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