Easter 5: Gospel, John 15:1-8                                                   

John 15:1-8

So much discussion today takes place in the Christian community about discipleship. Funny. It’s one of those words that doesn’t even show itself in the Bible. Like “Trinity.” The concept is there and it takes some digging to find the root that gives birth to it. But then that is precisely what being a disciple, what the fifteenth of John is all about. You have to dig to find the root of what makes one a disciple and what brings about fruitfulness. They are one and the same thing.

Read our text in the gospel for this week and you will find yourself at the intersection of “Abide Avenue” and “Fruitfulness Freeway.” You cannot have one without the other and Jesus makes it so very clear in this part of this discourse. And where these two streets come together you find Jesus directing all the traffic. Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And later, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (v. 8).

To be a disciple, to bear fruit, to get to the right intersection takes having the right map. It’s called the “Abiding Atlas.” It will never lead you astray.