When Jesus Christ makes this statement, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) it is incredibly freeing. We all, in varying degrees, seem to have swallowed and metabolized the lie that there is actually something we can do, must do to effect God’s salvation in our lives.

Think about this. Scripture states that we were dead in our sins, essentially alienated from God. If we are now alive, it is because we have received a new life, a new heart and spirit from God. What is dead has no capacity to change itself to any degree. Salvation is of the Lord, or it is not salvation at all. Knowledge of “self” never redeemed or transformed anyone. If we want to know who we are, we need to seek the one Who created us, and rely on His Word provided to us by the Holy Spirit that we might turn from self and turn to God alone.

To know and believe that life-change, healing, and the redemption of any and all aspects of our humanity is absolutely dependent upon Jesus living His life within us in the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit is humbling. But then, to acknowledge that He is God and we are not, sets us free to rely on the One Who never fails rather than stupidly relying on our consistently fallible selves.

To make your “home” in Jesus Christ, to know that your life flows from Him or not at all; to know that when you surrender to Him, believing Him for salvation, He comes and makes His permanent residence and home in you, is the beginning of living in true freedom.

It is the life-sap flowing from the Vine into the branches that causes fruit to be produce. The branch does not strain and groan, it receives, and the fruit it bears looks like the the Vine. The love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, meekness and self-control are the fruit of the Holy Spirit, not the fruit of human effort. The fruit of the Life and Love of Jesus Christ looks like this: (1 Cor. 13:4-7) “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

The fruit of the Life of Jesus borne in His followers is His own infinite love; identified because it is His Life and Love. It is joyful, peaceful, patience, good, gentle, meek and self-controlled; is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

The freedom to trust Him and to no longer live under any illusion that we can do anything to affect His salvation to any degree of true and lasting life-change releases us from bondage. He has promised that having begun a good work in us, He will bring it to completion. As Martin Luther penned in his memorable hymn, “If we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing…for God has will His strength to triumph through us.”

We are free to trust Him and Him alone…the One Who can never fail to finish what He has begun.