I
am the true vine. (John 15:1)
The true vine is that which fulfills the one and only
purpose of its existence. So Jesus brings this illustration over to Himself and
His Church, and it is perfectly clear what is the nature of the Lord Jesus. He
is reaching out to all men, embracing the whole world. He asks ALL the
nations into His heart. ALL men are His concern and not any one nation. He said
to His disciples: "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of ALL THE
NATIONS" (Matthew 28:19). It is the very nature of Jesus to do that. It is
quite foreign to Him to be exclusive, small and narrow and self-occupied....
But it is all very well to think of this objectively. It has to come down to
every one of us. What is the proof that Christ is in you and in me? How can it
be known that Christ is in us? Only in one way – that others are receiving Life
through us, that we minister the Life of Christ to others, that when hungry and
needy people come into touch with us they feel the touch of Life. They may
express it in different ways, but it amounts to this: 'That man, that woman,
has something that I have not got and it is something that I need. There is
something about them that I feel, and it is what I really need.' That should be
true of every Christian because Christ is in us, expanding Himself through us
and ministering His Life through us.
Oh, do pray, dear friends, every day as you get up: 'Lord, make
me a channel of Life to someone today. Lord, minister Your own Life through me
to someone today. May I bring Life wherever I am.' The Lord has no other
purpose for you and for me. We may try to do a lot of things, but if we belong
to the Vine we are no good for anything but to bear fruit; and that is to bring
Life to others.
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