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 15:4

The French-made wine, Domaine Romanee-Conti (DRC), is said to be the most expensive wine in the world, retailing at an average price of $20,000 (about UGX74 million) per bottle.

How much then could the farm be worth? I wonder.

Did you know that according to the Law of Moses, a man who planted a vineyard was not supposed to fight in a war before the first harvest?

Since Bible days, real estate with a vineyard that produces choice wine was extremely valuable.

Isaiah 7:23 cites a property with a thousand vines being worth 1,000 shekels [12 kilograms]of silver. That’s a lot of money in any currency.

Our meditation today comes from John 15:1-10, a portion of Scripture where Jesus stresses the fact that God’s intention for His Church was that it should to be a cherished ‘vineyard,’ so much that it is being tended by the Father Himself!

Jesus’ use of the concept of ‘vineyard’ shadows the Old Testament where its metaphorical use allowed the prophet Isaiah to draw an analogy between the “vineyard” and Israel: “For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel …” (Isaiah 5:7).

The Church, according to our Lord Jesus, can only produce value if she abides in Him as He abides in her.

In the Bible, the word ‘abide’ means to remain, stay or continue in something or place.

Indeed, the word ‘abide’ was a favourite for the Apostle John who used it almost 20 times in both his Gospel and Epistles.

Earlier in John 6:56, John quotes Jesus saying; “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” Do you see the mutual abiding there?

Apart from Christ, the Church can do nothing; it cannot accomplish anything of permanent spiritual value without Christ.

A plant and its branches are the same entity; the branch is part and parcel of the tree – the branches taking nourishment from the trunk with the branches and the leaves also producing nourishment to sustain the entire plant and bear fruit.

But whereas the plant may exist without the branches, the branches cannot thrive without the plant.

Apart from Christ, the Church can do nothing; it cannot accomplish anything of permanent spiritual value without Christ.

In the next verses, Jesus explains that not abiding in Him has serious consequences, which culminate in withering and eventually being burned, indicating a loss of reward.

By saying, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love,” Jesus makes the crucial point that His love for the Church is equivalent to the Father’s love for His Son. He simply transferred the Father’s love for Him to His Church – His bride.

That implies that Christ loves His Church unconditionally and as the Church obeys His Word and abides in His love, she comes to experience and understand, and abide in His love more and more.

As we saw at the beginning, ‘abiding’ carries the idea of settling down in Christ and remaining there.

According to 1 John 2:6, the apostle John argues that we show that we’re abiding in Him when by His Spirit we “walk just as He walked” (1 John 3:24).

That’s the idea in 1 John 4:13: “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”

The evidence that God abides in us and we abide in Him is the experience of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

Our relentless heeding and obedience to the Holy Spirit’s continual leading, guidance and direction constitutes “keeping His commands.”

What a privilege to abide in Him and be of value!

Prayer:

Almighty God, thank you because you abide in me by the Holy Spirit who is in me, with me and upon me. Help me to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit that I may be a valuable asset for Your Kingdom. For the glory of Your Name, Amen!