The Vine / Fruit

 Michael Sprague

MY FAVORITE VERSE

For some time I have been asking groups of people, “What are the signs of soul neglect? What tends to emerge in the life of a person who neglects his or her soul? What symptoms creep in?” 

The lists looked something like this: • Fatigue, irritability • Loss of vision, impatience, mentally sluggish • Anger • Anxiety, headaches, body aches • Loss of joy, no belly laughs, emotions flat-lined• Escapist behavior, feeling like one’s missing out on life • Spiritually dry, apathetic, drifting • Preoccupied, shame, not fully present in the moment • Isolation, limited time for relationships • Growing weary, • Compassionless • Self-focused • Sin looks more appealing. What a list, a sad list.

We turned the page of the flipchart and I asked, “What emerges when your soul is healthy and deeply connected with God?” A new list emerged, quite different from the first: • Love • Joy • Peace • Patience • Focus • Vision • Trust • Creativity • Energy • Enthusiasm.

Flipping to the first list, I asked the group, “Who votes for this list?” There was laughter and no hands raised. Flipping the page back, I asked, “Who votes for this one?” Everyone got the point. Then I said, “The truth is, you vote for one or the other every minute of every day.” Our souls are such that they can thrive or shrivel. They can be healthy or unhealthy. 

You do not get a lot of formulas with Jesus. Except, perhaps, the formula of John 15:5 …  I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. Sometimes God has to say to me, “Michael, what part of nothing don’t you understand?” The key: Abide in the SOURCE of life. Without the connection we are computers without power, sailboats without wind, sticks at the base of a tree. Stay connected. Stay rooted in the Vine.

 

There is a difference between our SOURCE and our RESOURCES. RESOURCES are good… books, blogs, temples, institutions, leaders, significant people … as long as the RESOURCES point us to the SOURCE. When our RESOURCES become our SOURCE our souls wither. 

Want to be fruitful, beautiful, and good to others? Do not manufacture the fruit yourself. Do not get religious. Do not get cocky. Stay connected. Abide in the VINE.