4月25日

標　　題： 常在葡萄樹裡

經　　節： 我是葡萄樹，你們是枝子。常在我裡面的，我也常在他裡面，這人就多結果子；因為離了我，你們就不能做甚麼。（約翰福音十五章5節）

有些人以為一定要不斷努力事奉主，才能夠滿足神的高標準。耶穌清楚地說明，我們跟祂之間應該是甚麼關係：祂是葡萄樹，是我們生命的源頭；我們是枝子，是結果子的地方。當我們得到耶穌的生命，我們的生命自然結出果子。

當我們熱誠地為主結果的時候，我們急切地要結果子，而忽略了住在基督裡。然而，耶穌說，不是我們的活動結果子，乃是我們與祂的關係結果子。

耶穌慎重地警告門徒，祂要他們小心自己遠離與祂的親密關係。若是如此，他們會發現自己停止結有意義的果子。他們可能為了神的國度卯足全力，卻停止與神創建親密的關係，他們發現自己不過是不結果子的枝子。耶穌行過最引人注目的一件事，是咒詛一棵不結實的無花果樹（馬可福音十一：14）。你是舒適地住在基督裡，還是沒耐性、馬不停蹄地參與許多活動？如果你與耶穌維持穩固的關係，大豐收是自然的結果。

Abide in the Vine

"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

There are those who feel that they must be constantly laboring for the Lord in order to meet God’s high standards. Jesus gave a clear picture of what our relationship to Him ought to be like. He is the vine, the source of our life. We are the branches, the place_ where fruit is produced. As we receive life from Christ, the natural, inevitable result is that fruit is produced in our lives.

In our zeal to produce “results” for our Lord, we sometimes become so intent on fruit production that we neglect abiding in Christ. We may feel that “abiding” is not as productive or that it takes too much time away from our fruit production. Yet Jesus said that it is not our activity that produces fruit, it is our relationship with Him. Jesus gave an important warning to His disciples. He cautioned that if they ever attempted to live their Christian life apart from an intimate relationship with Him, they would discover that they ceased to produce any significant results. They might exert great effort for the kingdom of God, yet when they stopped to account for their lives, they would find only barrenness. One of the most dramatic acts Jesus ever performed was cursing a fig tree that had failed to produce fruit (Mark 11:14). Are you comfortable in abiding, or are you impatient to be engaged in activity? If you will remain steadfastly in fellowship with Jesus, a great harvest will be the natural by-product.