Into the arms of Abba
“I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed you. So, you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine.” John 15:1-4
We learned last week how important it is to allow the Holy Spirit to change the way we think. We must expose ourselves to the way Yeshua thinks. It’s the only way we become like Him. In this teaching by Yeshua, He uses the reference of farming, tending the vine. Christ is the sprouting vine and Abba is the farmer who tends to the vine. We (His beloved) are the branches. Everyone is in agreement with what has been said so far. It is what comes next, we struggle with. When we are not fruitful in areas, we take the disappointment in ourselves and make it Abba’s disappointment. We take on these negative thoughts of how He sees us. We then distance ourselves from His presence because we think wrongly about how He feels. What does Yeshua say the Father actually does?
He cares for you and me when we are not producing fruit. He lifts us up which means He pulls us closer to His heart and in His arms. When a farmer lifts the branches off the ground it enhances their growth. He does the same for us when He lifts us up to His chest to cradle us in His love. The word prune here is the Greek word kathairo which means cleansing. He does not allow you stay in the mindset of disappointment from past mistakes. It doesn’t matter if it was twenty years ago or yesterday. His embracing love changes how we think about Him and ourselves. When we think different our actions will be different. We only have to do one thing.
We must remain in life-union with Him. When hard things happen, we don’t run away or close ourselves off to Him. We lift our arms like little children for our Abba to pick us up and hold us. It makes everything better. We feel safe in His arms. Let every circumstance and situation be an opportunity to nurture your intimacy with Yeshua.
