5 “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.
I love this passage for many reasons, but more because Jesus is talking directly to us and telling us how to live. He doesn't tell us to copy what he does. He tells us that we are both the same when we are living within each other. He in us and we in Him.
Now, I'm just a lay person and don't have a great deal of book theology behind me so in the beginning I thought of Jesus as a person to copy to emulate like you would someone you admire or hope to be like one day. Growing as a Christian I realized my thinking was wrong once I read this verse and remembered the goal is not to copy, but rather be. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean be Jesus, I mean have Him live in me and have me live in Him. Being one, that's the goal.
This is a painting by my friend L. Diane Johnson. The painting is sold, but you can find more of her work by going to http://www.ldianejohnson.com Or,it is also in print at Art.com:
http://www.art.com/asp/sp-asp/_/PD--12119367/SP--C/IGID--12119367/Vineyard_in_the_Garden.htm?sOrig=CRT&sOrigId=66290&ui=82681C8CE94D431BA89CD2862B2148A1
Enjoy
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