Flourishing as Branches

Scripture — John 15:1-2, 4-5, 8 (NRSV)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. . . . Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. . . . My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

Devotion

In one of last week’s devotions, called “Flourishing and Fruitfulness,” I explained how bearing fruit is essential to the biblical understanding of flourishing. In case you missed that devotion, here’s part of what I wrote:

In Scripture, fruitfulness is essential to human flourishing. This comes as no surprise, since fruitfulness is also essential to our identity as human beings. We see this in Genesis 1. There, God creates heaven, earth, and all that is in them, including humanity. God makes human beings as unique bearers of God’s own image and gives us the responsibility of completing the good work God began in creation. Specifically, God says to the first humans, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). Notice that the very first command of God to humankind is “Be fruitful.” Fruitfulness is essential to our human nature and divine calling.

In the New Testament, no passage is clearer about the importance of fruitfulness than John 15. In this passage, Jesus talks about us as branches on a vine, with Jesus himself being that vine, what he calls “the true vine” (15:1). Our “job” as branches is to produce fruit. When we do, and especially when we “bear much fruit,” we are fulfilling our responsibility and thereby glorifying our Heavenly Father (15:8).

Branches of a vine don’t have much choice as to their destiny. For one thing, they are necessarily connected to the vine, or else they’ll dry up and die. We, on the other hand, as branches have a choice as to our relationship to the vine. Jesus urges us to abide in him, that is, to be deeply connected to him as a healthy branch to a healthy vine (15:4). If we do, we will bear much fruit (15:5). But notice that Jesus doesn’t compel us to abide in him. Rather, he invites us to do so. Yet we are free to choose how to respond to this invitation.

Jesus’s use of the vine-branch metaphor suggests something vital about our fruitfulness. Though one branch on a vine might bear some fruit, the fruitfulness of the vine depends on more than a single branch. Fruitfulness, we might say, is a corporate endeavor.

This is also true when it comes to human flourishing. I suppose a hermit living alone might flourish in some ways. But this kind of individualistic flourishing would be quite limited, rather like the fruitfulness of a single branch. You and I are meant to flourish in community with others. We see this in Genesis 1, for example, when the command to “Be fruitful” is given to humankind as male and female. We see this in John 15 if we picture a lavishly fruitful vine in which all branches are producing an abundance of grapes.

Thus, Jesus’s vine-branch metaphor in John 15 reiterates what we have seen elsewhere in Scripture. God has created us to be fruitful, or, we might say, to flourish. Flourishing is not something we do on our own, however. We will bear much fruit in life if we are deeply connected to Jesus, the vine from which we get all that is necessary to produce fruit. Moreover, as one branch among many, we contribute to the overall fruitfulness of the vine. Flourishing in life has everything to do with our core relationships, first of all with Jesus, and then with his other “branches.”

You can see an example of how a community of flourishing operates in the production of Life for Leaders. Many, many years ago, before I came to the De Pree Center and even before the time I was at Laity Lodge, I was once a “solo shop” when it came to devotions. I wrote, edited, posted, and emailed them all by myself. I enjoyed this work for a while, but also found it to be rather exhausting. Moreover, the quality of what I produced by myself wasn’t what it might have been. Have you ever tried to edit yourself?

Today, Life for Leaders is a community endeavor. I write three devotions weekly and am thankful to share the writing load with an outstanding team of fellow “devoters.” This enables me to go into greater depth when I write and to keep on going without running out of spiritual and emotional steam. Each devotion I write is edited by Jennifer, a pro at such things. Then Chelsea and Trish get it ready to be posted and emailed. The system that supports this is managed by Ryan, and the whole operation is overseen by Michaela. Moreover, Raven helps get out the word about Life for Leaders so that our subscriber list might grow. (It’s now well over 10,000.) In addition to the De Pree Center staff, we also get lots of support from many who receive Life for Leaders. Encouraging emails come regularly and keep those who write energized. Dozens of readers also choose to support Life for Leaders financially by making gifts to the De Pree Center.

As you can see, the fruitfulness of today’s devotion isn’t the result of one person’s effort. Rather, it is truly the result of a community working together. Like Life for Leaders, we will flourish when we are part of a community of people abiding in Christ and seeking to bear fruit that glorifies God.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: I Have Called You Friends (John 1:35-51, John 15:15).