John 15:1-4

“I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit. You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.

There is a vine that grows along a fence next to my house. It latches itself onto every part of the fence, and grows up into the trees and latches onto that. This always reminds me that Jesus – as the true vine – holds us always tightly in His grip. Here Jesus encourages us to “remain in Him”. His grip is already tight, so we need to fight to get away – and even if we fight it is not as if grace no longer applies. Part of bearing fruit is our ability to receive the grace of God daily. In fact, grace is the foundation of bearing fruit, because we recognize that we only bear fruit attached to the true vine – Jesus.