We have a tendency to come up with these varied excuses because we misunderstand the basis of fruit-bearing, thinking we are responsible for developing the fruit. So we say to ourselves, "I am going to work on patience as a fruit." "I am going to work on love." "I'm going to love this person even if it kills me." Can you develop these fruits? It's ridiculous! Yet the Devil convinces us of this, and we become determined to do it. How many times have I talked with husbands and wives who say, "well, I'm going to love her even if it's the last thing I ever do!" And that is totally ridiculous.
But what happens if we are abiding in the Vine? Love just comes out. If we take all, we will give all. If we give all, we'll have to take it--you can't do it without Him. No matter how much determination you muster on your own it will still be utterly impossible to develop these fruits. What is a severed branch fit for? Burning, and it is good for nothing else. The branch lasts a minute, generates a little heat, and then it will be gone--that's the end of it, and that's exactly what Jesus intended to communicate. This illustration is so completely true and so completely simple that it's very, very difficult for us to believe it.
Wo the very things I want you to remember and put down in your notes from these verses of Scripture is the lesson of the branch's total and absolute dependence. The branch cannot live, it cannot exist, it cannot produce, it cannot do anything without abiding in the Vine. And it must continually abide, 24 hours a day, 365 days out of the year. It isn't a matter of abiding only on Sabbath or at the midweek service; it means abiding every day, it means abiding continually! And if the branch abides in the Vine, it cannot help but bear the fruit! That's right, it can't help but bear the fruit, for it has to; it's the natural thing and it can't help but do so. This is what righteousness by faith is really all about.
This lesson became one of the most astounding things that have happened in my life, long before I read this little book. I was praying a lot about having the character of Jesus and sometime later I was thinking about this and I was thinking about how much I was loving everyone, or nearly everyone and how fulfilling it was and how much my life had changed from one of criticizing others to one of loving everyone that would allow me to love them. There are some people that it takes time to break through the barrier. So don't get discouraged! I can only think of a very few that are like that and for some reason, some people don't like me and I suspect it has to do with jealousy, since I don't really know them and they don't know me but they see how much I am loved by others. It is such a fulfilling life, I would never want it any other way. We have new members in our church now, 16 to be exact and I am going to love them too. Everyone needs loved, I have found that out and I just tell them I love them and they respond beautifully. Ask God to fill you with His love and you will be so filled yourself that it is absolutely amazing. This all happened as an answer to a prayer that I asked God to make me more like Him. Grandma Joan
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