Branch Out, Church
Branch-identity and God's circulating love in modern-day discipleship
We are created to thrive in love.
John 15 opens with the image of God as the vine-grower, Jesus as the vine, and us as the branches.
We read about a Love that shapes the branch to produce fruit, seeing the beauty among the weeds and overgrowth.
This Love is our gardener, and we are the tender branches
As a Simple Church, this scripture reminds us of our place in the vine.
Not as the gardener, the vine, or the fruit, but as the branch.
We are branches – places of fruitful connection.
Sometimes we forget our identity as a branch and take on a different role.
Faced with challenges when tensions rise, we take on the role of the gardener.
We attempt to shape people according to our vision, but it is God who prunes and waters to make way for spiritual transformation.
Or, we may find ourselves clinging to particular methods or expressions of the church, identifying with the kind of fruit we bear, thinking this fruit is our crown of glory…
So, how do we stay grounded as branches of Christ?
John 15 leads us to the verb abide, mentioned eight times.
In a culture that celebrates individualism and self-reliance as a means to success, abiding in Christ is an invitation to a new way of life.
It’s not about losing our individuality or personal relationship with God, but emphasizing an interconnectedness of believers within community.
The essential reality of our purpose as disciples is to connect, becoming a bridge for the love of Christ to flow from the vine, through the branches, and into the fruit ripening at the stems.
This love that God shares always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Cor. 13:7)
God’s Love releases us from dead things, shapes us, and sees our beautiful potential ahead, and now.
We are connected to a Love that chose us and appointed us to bear good fruit.
So, remain in love…
Remain in the vine.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can’t do anything. If you don’t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up… As the Father loved me, I too have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy will be in you and your joy will be complete. This is my commandment: love each other just as I have loved you.” John 15: 5-12, NIVSimple Church application
How can we abide in love with our friends?
While there are many ways to interpret this scripture, here is one way to remain in God in the context of intentional friendship or a discipleship relationship:
Listening with God
All of our expressions as the church begin with intimately knowing God’s devotion to us. Take time alone or with like-minded friends to hear from God and give thanks. To deepen this prayer time, consider praying a confession, as David did in Psalm 139:23-24*, for revelation and insight to ground yourself as a branch dependent on the true Vine of Christ.
*Search me, God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139:23-24)
Listening with Others
Love can abide where we are slow to speak and quick to listen (James 1:19-20). Showing up with presence, rather than a remedy we think people need, is often the most intentional thing you can do for someone.
Stay curious and compassionate as you interact with people on your path, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you in the direction of love.
