HAVE you ever bought a full, juicy and delicious bunch of grapes, but then placed them in the fridge and forgotten they were there? A couple of weeks later you rediscover the bag, only to find that the once-juicy fruit is now dried and shrivelled.VineThe length of time that grapes stay full and juicy once they have been taken from the vine is not very long at all. They lose their freshness because they have been disconnected from the source that gave them life.
I discovered from Guinness World Records that the oldest vine still bearing grapes is in Slovenia. Experts have confirmed that it is more than 400 years old.
People have been cultivating vines for more than a few hundred years. They were part of everyday rural life in Bible times. Jesus' friends were familiar with vines, and so they were likely to have understood what he meant when he said: ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing' (John 15:5 New International Version).
While the people who heard Jesus' words would probably have realised what he was trying to say, some of us who live in 21st-century cities might struggle with it. As fruit is already bagged and waiting to be picked up in the supermarket, references to the agricultural world are not always easy to understand.
When Jesus claimed to be the vine he was saying that if we are not connected to him, we will not be able to draw the strength and life he offers to give us. If we connect ourselves to him and accept his help, the problems we face - which threaten to drain the life out of us - seem more manageable.
Jesus wants us to bear fruit in our lives - he wants us to speak the right words and act in ways that will make our lives and the lives of other people better. We can do that only if we develop an attachment to him.
We cannot flourish if we are cut off. Jesus is the source of life.
War Cry 30 January 2010 - TSA UK
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