I Am The Vine You Are The Branches

Over the last few weeks, as we have journeyed through the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians, one phrase has been circulating around my head: “It is not about striving but about abiding.”

It is our natural religious tendency when we do not see the fruit to think we are not doing enough; we need to pray more often, read the Bible more often, have more faith, etc.

We easily default to the mindset of striving, the mindset of doing more, of working harder, and beating ourselves up for not being more gentle or patient.

Paul is not talking about doing more in Galatians, he is talking about a natural product of the Spirit at work.
Maybe, like me, you naturally copy the accent of people you spend time with or while travelling. There is a technical name for this phenomenon: linguistic convergence.

Eventually, if you spend enough time with them, your accent and other speech patterns will change and pretty soon you are measuring gas by the gallon. For some of us this can take years and for others just a few days!

Our behaviour is modified by proximity and familiarity and it is the same with the Spirit. As we allow time and space for the Spirit and walk humbly with our God, we become aware of the presence of God in our everyday lives as Brother Lawrence did as he Practiced the Presence of God. The fruit is a result of proximity and familiarity.

“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.” John 15:4-5.

Stephen