MAY RADIO MESSAGE FRUITFUL LIVING T here is a very wonderful rela tionship which can and should exist between a believer and the Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity is actually a union between an ordinary human being and the great “I AM.” How thrilling and blessed it is to go through Scripture checking the many references when C h r is t uses the phrase, “I am.” He says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” “I am the good Shepherd,” “I am the Light of Life,” and here in John 15:5, “I am the Vine.” What did the Saviour have in mind when He said this? In Ezekiel 15:2-5 we read, “What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any ves sel thereon ? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? Be hold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?” If you were going in for landscape gardening and desired to have a very beautiful plot in front of your new home, this portion would suggest you not plant a vine since such a growth is not beautiful at all. One doesn’t have such a thing around for mere ornamentation. Again, if you have been wanting to build an addition to the house, don’t use wood from a vine. It is not suitable. Then, one other thought, don’t hang things on a vine. This Biblical passage shows that it is not useable for this either. It would seem that a vine is only good for fire wood. Yet Ezekiel says it really isn’t too good for that either. What the Lord is pointing out to us is that the sole function of a vine is to bring forth fruit. It must con
by D. Stuart Briscoe
stantly reproduce itself. So, Christ is saying, “My sole function, as far as you believers are concerned, is that I might reproduce Myself in you.” Is there any living evidence in your life that such is true ? This is a very prac tical and realistic question. You see, the vine only grows its fruit through the branches. If one could choke off the branches from the vine the sole function of the growth would be de stroyed. Christ wants to reproduce His own wonderful, victorious, triumph ant, dynamic life in and through you. His reason is totally beyond our com prehension. Why should He limit Himself to activity through Chris tians? When you as a branch are not bringing forth fru it you are actually destroying the ministry of the great “I AM.” You are only limiting Him. It is my contention that Christ is not given opportunity to work in these days by the people who ought to give Him the privilege and honot. We do not see Him ev id en c ed in our churches, our homes, our factories and our stores. Too many Christians are so busy they have no time to let the Vine work through them as the branches. Check for a moment on yourself. How much evidence is there in your life of the great “I AM” being let loose? Someone may say, “It’s all very well talking like that but you can’t really apply this particular truth when it was spoken to a little group of dis ciples some 2,000 years ago. We are in the 20th century.” Basically, how ever, men are no different at all. Look at these men to whom Christ spoke. As a young.man, John was a dead loss. The Lord Jesus had to call him “son of thunder” because he had such an uncontrollable temper. At the start he evidently was a bitter indi vidual. When the people of Samaria didn’t agree with him he wanted to 13
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