YE THE BRANCHES
I Am The Vine, Ye Are the Branches--John 15:5
Christ had already said much of the branch; here
He comes to the personal application: "Ye are the branches of whom I have been
speaking. As I am the Vine, engaged to be and do all the branches need, so I
now ask you, in the new dispensation of the Holy Spirit whom I have been
promising you, to accept the place I give you, and to be My branches on earth."
The relationship He seeks to establish is an intensely personal one: it all
hinges on the two little words I and You. And it is for us as intensely
personal as for the first disciples. Let us present ourselves before our Lord,
until He speak to each of us in power, and our whole soul feels it: "I am the
Vine; you are the branch."
Dear disciple of Jesus, however young or feeble,
hear the voice. "You are the branch." You must be nothing less. Let no
false humility, no carnal fear of sacrifice, no unbelieving doubts as to what
you feel able for, keep you back from saying: "I will be a branch, with all
that may mean--a branch, very feeble, but yet as like the Vine as can be, for I
am of the same nature, and receive of the same spirit. A branch, utterly
helpless, and yet just as manifestly set apart before God and men, as wholly
given up to the work of bearing fruit, as the Vine itself. A branch, nothing in
myself, and yet resting and rejoicing in the faith that knows that He will
provide for all. Yes, by His grace, I will be nothing less than a branch, and
all He means it to be, that through me, He may bring forth His fruit."
You are the branch.--You need be
nothing more. You need not for one single moment of the day take upon
you the responsibility of the Vine. You need not leave the place of entire
dependence and unbounded confidence. You need, least of all, to be anxious as
to how you are to understand the mystery, or fulfill its conditions, or work
out its blessed aim. The Vine will give all and work all. The Father, the
Husbandman, watches over your union with and growth in the Vine. You need be
nothing more than a branch. Only a branch! Let that be your watchword; it will
lead in the path of continual surrender to Christ's working, of true obedience
to His every command, of joyful expectancy of all His grace.
Is there anyone who now asks: "How can I learn to
say this aright, `Only be a branch!' and to live it out?" Dear soul, the
character of a branch, its strength, and the fruit it bears, depend entirely
upon the Vine. And your life as branch depends entirely upon your apprehension
of what our Lord Jesus is. Therefore never separate the two words: "I the
Vine--you the branch." Your life and strength and fruit depend upon what your
Lord Jesus is! Therefore worship and trust Him; let Him be your one desire and
the one occupation of your heart. And when you feel that you do not and cannot
know Him aright, then just remember it is part of His responsibility as Vine to
make Himself known to you. He does this not in thoughts and
conceptions--no--but in a hidden growth within the life that is humbly and
restfully and entirely given up to wait on Him. The Vine reveals itself within
the branch; thence comes the growth and fruit, Christ dwells and works within
His branch; only be a branch, waiting on Him to do all; He will be to thee the
true Vine. The Father Himself, the divine Husbandman, is able to make thee a
branch worthy of the heavenly Vine. Thou shalt not be disappointed.
Ye are the branches. This word, too Lord!
O speak it in power unto my soul. Let not the branch of the earthly vine put me
to shame, but as it only lives to bear the fruit of the vine, may my life on
earth have no wish or aim, but to let Thee bring forth fruit through me.