The vine, the trellis and the fruit

In John 15:1–17, Jesus gives us one of the clearest pictures of the Christian life.

He says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.”

Jesus is the source of life. We are the branches. The Father is the Gardener who tends, prunes, lifts, and shapes us so that we can bear fruit.

That means the Christian life was never meant to be passive.

We are saved by grace through faith, not by works. But grace was never intended to leave us unchanged. Jesus calls us to abide in Him, to remain connected to Him, to obey Him, to love one another, and to bear fruit that lasts.

A vineyard also needs structure.

The trellis does not give the branch life. The Vine does. But the trellis gives structure to the life the branch already has. It supports the branch, lifts it from the dirt, trains its growth, and helps position it for fruitfulness.

That is a helpful picture of what I call Kingdom Practices: prayer, study, worship, fasting, solitude, confession, service, submission, guidance, and other intentional practices that help structure our life with Christ.

These practices do not save us.

Prayer does not purchase grace. Fasting does not earn God’s favor. Bible study does not make us righteous.

Jesus gives life.

But because He has given us life, we are called to participate in the work He is doing in us.

Hebrews 12:14 tells us to “strive…for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Philippians 2:12–13 tells us to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling, while reminding us that God is the One working in us.

That is the balance.

We do not work for salvation.

We work out the salvation God has already worked into us.

Grace is opposed to earning, but grace is not opposed to effort.

Sometimes we can have grace but no rhythm, faith but no formation, salvation but no intentional practice. We can remain spiritually tangled, dragging through the dirt, wondering why we are not bearing the fruit Jesus says should characterize His disciples.

But the Gardener is still at work.

He lifts.

He prunes.

He trains.

He directs.

And as we remain in Christ and submit to His work, fruit begins to appear: love, obedience, joy, service, sacrifice, and Christlike character.

Jesus says in John 15:16:

“I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”

The goal is not simply to be attached to the Vine.

The goal is fruitfulness.

Grace brings us to the Vine.

Kingdom Practices give structure to our life in the Vine.

The Gardener forms us.

And the result is fruit that lasts.

-Timothy Rapp