Fear No Fear

“Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, neither can you, unless you remain in Me” (John 15:4, MEV). Jesus loves us enough to give us life. It’s a simple concept. A branch cannot sustain itself without the vine. Look at any patch of wild berries anywhere. In our region of the world, blackberries are everywhere. Huge clumps of them. When they enter our garden, we clip them. The branches get severed from the vine. They don’t die right away. But within a short time, a day or two, they are withering. Then browning. Then dead. They can’t do anything but take up space. They don’t make new fruit. What fruit they have (if any) also wither and dry up. It becomes completely useless. Destined for the compost heap or the dump. This is the connection that we have to God through Jesus. Sustaining life. When we disconnect from Him, we last a little while. We can coast on what we previously learned. What we intellectually know. But there will be no fruit. Only habits. We can live according to a set of principles. We can put on a show. We can make decisions and talk the talk. But underneath it all, there is dust and withering and no life. Nothing new. No strength. No growth. No expansion. No abundance. But when we stay connected to Jesus, there IS life and growth and fruit and abundance. The more we stay connected the more there is. If we give Him a little time, we access a little life. If we let Him into all the areas of our lives, we access all the life we can handle. The more we invest in Him, the more He can flow through us. He is our source of strength, of joy, of life, of everything. Give Him time. Take time. Grow in Him and let Him grow through you.