today, while driving in the car, i was listening to an audio cd of andrew murray's devotional, Absolute Surrender. the soft copy of this devotional can be found here. i was most struck by the last chapter (page 50).
"I will take my text from the parable of the Vine and the Branches, in John 15:5: “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” Especially these words: “Ye are the branches.” What a simple thing it is to be a branch, the branch of a tree, or the branch of a vine! The branch grows out of the vine, or out of the tree, and there it lives and grows, and in due time, bears fruit. It has no responsibility except just to receive from the root and stem sap and nourishment. And if we only by the Holy Spirit knew our relationship to Jesus Christ, our work would be changed into the brightest and most heavenly thing upon earth. "
the irony of it all! i was just lamenting to myself how tough life can be, with soooo many demands :( sometimes we forget the blessedness of having a God to depend on. sometimes, though we depend on Him a little, we want to manage some aspects ourselves. life as a branch involves:
1) absolute dependence
2) deep restfulness
3) much fruitfulness
4) close communion
5) absolute surrender
if we would live this life as a branch whole-heartedly, indeed, how simple life would be!
1 comment:
Truly we can do nothing without God! And we can have added comfort and assurance to know that our God is one who is described as "...the things that are impossible with man are possible with God." While we can do nothing, nothing is impossible with God. Thank God for His grace and mercy upon us!
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