Vine and branches - 9 April 2008

Jesus said "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 [NIV]

Yesterday I mentioned Activating events in our lives forming our Beliefs that lead to Consequences in how we live out our lives. I think there is a similar ABC pattern in our spiritual lives as well as the worldly examples I focussed on yesterday. The activating event for the Christian is an encounter with Jesus, and he says it is essential to remain in him for the consequences (fruit). It reminds me that Christianity is about a relationship with the Lord primarily, and the things that Jesus taught follow from that. Unless that relationship is strong, we won’t be able follow what he taught or bear fruit.


“The Lives of Others” is a film about life in East Berlin under the communist regime. The Stasi police put people under surveillance who stray from communist philosophy. The film focuses on one Stasi agent called Wiesler and a playwright Dreymann. Wiesler is a hard Stasi interrogator and is sent in to bug Dreymann’s flat after he is suspected of Western sympathies. Despite the deeply entrenched belief that Wiesler has in the East German regime, he is changed as he monitors Dreymann and his girlfriend, and flaws in the communist system are revealed to him.


Activating events are so often relational. If we want the Lord to change us I suggest the place we start is in our relationship with Him.