It’s easy for Christians to fall into a rut: Church is a thing you do, prayer is a box to check, and faith seems far from “the real world.” This fall we let Jesus himself confront our ruts. “Do you believe this?” he asks (Jn. 11:26).
To believe in Jesus is to experience him. It’s more than logic, argument, and doctrine. It is intimate knowledge of God himself. This fall, let Jesus himself speak to you in his seven “I AM” statements in the gospel of John. How is he changing you? What response is he inspiring in you? To believe in him changes everything.
Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Ponder:
Today we ponder the I AM statement: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” What things does our world hunger and thirst for? What longings do you have in your life right now? Ponder how Jesus is the Bread of Life, and how he satisfies all our unmet longing.
Word
John 15:1-2
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser . . . and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Meditation: Pruning and Shaping by Jo Saleska Lange
I don’t have much experience with “serious” gardening, but I love the idea of growing my own produce. So, when a plot finally opened in our community garden this past spring, I signed up, paid my fee, and got to work. I spent a weekend weeding my new plot and filling it with fresh compost. When the days grew warm enough, I planted tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, basil, and cilantro.
For a while, I visited the garden every other day to check on growth and pluck weeds here and there. Then, in mid-July, my second son was born, and life got overwhelming fast. I neglected my garden for a few weeks. I figured my plants would be okay, though. After all, I had planted them in good soil and spaced them according to the labels; an automatic sprinkler system kept them well watered.
But when I eventually returned to the garden, my plot was unrecognizable. The tomato vines had grown so heavy and unwieldy they’d tipped their metal cages, and I couldn’t reach the ripe fruit without scratching my arms in all the foliage. The basil and cilantro had flowered, and their leaves had grown tough and inedible. The cucumber vines had taken over most of the garden bed, choking out the peppers and broccoli. I was pleased, at least, to find several plump cucumbers on the vine, but when I tasted them that evening, they were too bitter to eat—even slathered in dressing.
Good soil, water, and sun are important, but they aren’t enough to make a garden thrive. Gardens that produce good fruit require diligent, careful gardeners—people willing to show up to prune, shape, and guide.
I love that Jesus refers to God the Father as “the vinedresser” in John 15 because the metaphor reminds me that God is anything but passive in my life. Unlike me, God is an attentive gardener. He actively and consistently tends to us—pruning, shaping, and guiding.
When I think back on my life, I recognize evidence of God’s work: a nudging away from a destructive habit, the end of an unhealthy relationship, the letting go of a past hurt that prevented me from seeing present blessings. I can also think of a few areas in my life right now that could use some pruning . . . if I’d only allow God to do so.
Maybe you can, too.
Because when we allow God to prune and shape our lives, we get to experience Christ, our life-giving vine, more fully. We begin to produce good, sweet fruit—fruit that will go on to nourish others so that they also might experience the true pleasure of abiding in Christ Jesus.
Dear God, thank you for being present and active in our lives. Help us to recognize the areas in our lives that need pruning so that we might produce good fruit in service of your kingdom. Amen.
Prayer
Jesus, you said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” In this world, I am always longing for more. Satisfy my deepest hunger, not only for physical nourishment. I long to be fulfilled and joyful. I find that only in you. So be the true bread of my life, and fill me up. Amen.
Benediction
May the grace of the Lord Jesus sanctify us and keep us from all evil; may he drive far from us all hurtful things; may he bind us to himself by the bond of love, and may his peace abound in our hearts. Amen.