Gospel of John, Chapter 15 (I am the Vine)

Jesus in the Gospel of John, Chapter 15 declares, "I am the Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser." (John 15:1) For a moment, he brings us far away from his looming crucifixion. Like the Garden of Eden, the Gardens of Babylon, the Vineyard of Isaiah, Chapter 5, Jesus brings peace, security, food, and joy. When we live in Him, we have Life, but when we do not, we are cast into the furnace (John 15:6).

God also promises to prune us. (John 15:2) We are pruned by His words. (John 15:3) But Jesus is the Word! (John 1:1) He prunes us by who He is. Thus, we see the dichotomy. The more that we live in Him, the less pruning we will need -- the less of ourselves will need to be removed. If we do not live in Him, then we cannot have Life, because Life comes through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone (John 1:4).

What is Christ's Life? How can we follow Him? Jesus tells us clearly. We are to remain in His Love (John 15:9). We must give His Word a home in ourselves, and follow His Commandments (John 15:10). Again, we have a dichotomy. Hearing his Word, remaining in His Love and following His Commandents are part of a package that cannot be divided any more than the pumping of your heart and the firing of your neurons can be divided.

And yet, we do need pruning. We must be divided from some things in order to live in God. Namely, we must be divided from "the World." This phrase, as used in John, is a subject for deep prayer and contemplation. Suffice to say, the World is whatever is not of God -- what divides us from Him. This is somewhat circular. We must be divided from that which divides us from God.

Thus, we must embrace the Cross. The Cross is the expression of ultimate self-renunciation for eternal Life. As the World hated Christ, the World will hate us (John 15:18-20) if we follow Him to Golgotha. God does not do this out of wrath, but His Eternal Love. "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." (John 15:11) The apocalyptic and the triumphant halves of Christ message are united. We cannot have the joy without the suffering. Christ offers us the whole package. He offers us joy, truth and love. He has offered us His Life.