Jesus told us that He is the vine and we are the branches.

“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.  If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (John 15:5-8)

In order to gain the full understanding of this scripture it is important that we understand the functions of both the vine and branches. This morning’s devotion will focus on the vine.

What is the purpose of the vine?

The vine is that part of the tree or plant that carries the water and nourishment to the leaves and fruits.

The vine is like the blood vessels of the body that carries the blood- the life giving substance – to every cells of the body.

The vine in the above scripture was specifically related to the the grapevine and so we will look at some of the functions of this plant.

The grapevine is a woody perennial plant which consists of trunk, leaves, flowers, fruits and the roots.

The roots of the vine absorbs the water and nutrients from the soil. It stores carbohydrate and produce hormones that regulate the growth of the vine.

The trunk is the main stem of the grapevine from which the cordons (vine) extended and are grown horizontally according to how they are trained along the fence.

The fully developed cordon will bear arms, spurs, base, shoots and canes. This is the area of the plant that vinedressers pruned during the dormant season to manage vine shape and size and to control the quantity of the crop.

For more detailed information about the grapevine visit Wine grape growing.

It is not hard to understand the reason why Jesus likened Himself to the vine.

Jesus is the life giving source of the Church. He anchors, nourish, enrich, strengthen, purify and make whole.

The cross that He bore for our sins was the pruning period of His life so that He could produce a bigger and better harvest for God, the Father.

Likewise, as believers in Christ we have to go through the pruning stage to produce fruits of righteousness.

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (John 15:1-4)

Tomorrow’s devotion will look at the purpose of the branches.

Related post: Abide on the vine