Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, Thank you that you desire intimacy
with us. Help us to always live in
you. May we always be so intimately
connected with you that we are closer to you than a vine and its branches. That way we cannot help but to bear fruit, by
your power and for your glory. Amen.
Scripture: John 15:1-11
Journal: What about this image captures your heart or speaks
to your soul? How is the process of
abiding in him going these days? What
are your typical abiding places, if not Jesus?
Reflection:
Intimacy is all about connection. Nowhere do we see this more visibly portrayed
that here in John 15:1-11. Jesus is
speaking to his disciples in the upper room, trying to prepare them for what is
to come and the ministry that will follow.
He’s telling them what his deepest hopes are for their (as well as our)
relationship with him in the days ahead.
And just look at the picture he uses:
“I want to be so intimately connected
to you that we are like a vine and its branches, so connected that you cannot
tell where one stops and the other begins.
So intimately connected that you draw your very lifeblood straight out
of me. So connected that the fullness I
give to you cannot help but become fruit bursting forth all over you. That’s the way this life of the Spirit
works. Fruit cannot grow apart from the
vine, it must grow because of it. As you
draw your life and your nourishment, your joy and your love, straight from my
heart it will bring about beautiful fruit on your branches. Fruit that was intended to draw others into
relationship with me. Fruit that will
allow everyone who comes in contact with you to taste and see that the Lord is
good.”
So the mode of intimacy is connection, but
the goal of intimacy is fruitfulness—for his kingdom and his glory.
Prayers
Closing Prayer: O God of peace, who hast taught us that
in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall
be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee,
to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ~The Book of Common Prayer
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