April 8, 2022 - John 15:5

“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.” John 15:5 NIV

Lord, the significance of the last part of this verse can so often get fully missed as we look at the overall meaning of this verse. Today I want to pray into the “apart from me you can do nothing” portion of this verse. What a statement, Lord. It can be hard to really take it for what it says. We want to believe that we can accomplish some things on our own. After all, we all have some strengths and talents that were given to us by you. So, what does it really mean that we can do nothing apart from you? On some level we can say, but of course as you are the one who gave us life and you are what sustains us, so apart from you we wouldn’t exist and could not stay alive. But I think what you are saying is more than just that. I think that anything that we do on our own outside of you, holds no eternal value, even if we did it for you.

Lord, teach us what it means to really remain in you. When we get to heaven, we don’t want to realize that we wasted most of our live. We want to see that all our efforts have held eternal significance. Show us what it means to truly live in you. Show us how to live to hear your instructions and walk in obedience. We don’t want to do things because we will be good at them. We don’t even want to take things on because there is a need that we can meet. Maybe it wasn’t our need to meet, and you had it for someone else. We only want to do what you are telling us to do, in your strength. We want to be willing to follow you into the places that are “bigger” than us and make us uncomfortable. It is in those places that we get to see you work through us and we can’t rely only on our own capabilities. Help us always live a life in you that makes an eternal difference.

In Jesus name, amen.