Growing With Christ

 John 15:5

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Any good gardener will tell you the importance of staking new plants. The braces provide support and help plants grow straight and tall. In teaching us obedience, the Lord similarly redirects our natural inclinations so we can grow in a Godward direction.  If we are to grow correctly and produce much fruit, we must make sure that we as the branches remain staked on the vine and not droop down onto the garden bed where bugs and rot will eat us away.

As we mature in our faith, we see that the Lord is teaching us how to submit ourselves to Him in ways both big and small. And yet He never forces us to comply. That means obedience isn’t passive; it’s a decision we make again and again until we’ve completed our time on earth.

Remember that even Jesus practiced the discipline of submission, and—as always—He serves as our role model (Hebrews 5:7-8). Like Him, we must choose to live obediently, even when what we’re being asked to do is hard or painful. This willingness to listen and follow, no matter what the cost, glorifies God and transforms us in ways we never imagined (2 Corinthians 9:13).