I AM the Vine

John 15:1-17

I AM the Vine

Jesus used the phrase “I am” seven times in the gospel of John:

·        I am the Bread of Life (6:35)

·        I am the Light of the World (8:12)

·        I am the Gate (10:9)

·        I am the Good Shepherd (10:11)

·        I am the Resurrection and the Life (11:25)

·        I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6)

·        I am the Vine (15:5)

Please meditate on these “I AMS” and soak up how much God loves you and longs to give you good things – bread, light, life, to name a few.  For now, let’s look a little more closely at the last “I am,” where Jesus refers to himself as the Vine. 

Jesus is urging his disciples to attach themselves to him, the Vine, and to bear fruit.  He tells them that they are not his servants, they are his friends (v. 15).  And perhaps most shockingly, he tells them that he chose them – they didn’t choose him (v. 16).  Imagine that for a moment:  Jesus is inviting you to be his friend!  He desires a relationship with you. 

Everyone wants to be special.  We may mock the ‘teacher’s pet,’ but deep down, we all have a strong desire to be specially loved and wanted.  Jesus offers that kind of relationship to us, and through his death on the cross, he paid the final price.  We don’t have to earn it, but he knows that by bearing good fruit (doing good works, serving him) we will have a fulfillment that is beyond all earthly imagining.

Lord, you call me friend, not servant.  You urge me to bear good fruit.  Help me this week to live in the reality of John 15:5, and cling tightly to you, the true vine.  The bread of life, the light of the world.  Amen.