“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
We live in a culture that elevates and celebrates busyness, productivity, and accomplishment. That culture easily spreads into our spiritual lives as well. Thankfully, Jesus gave us this beautiful teaching to remind us that when it comes to accomplishing things that truly matter and that will last for eternity, it isn’t about how busy we are or how many things we can check off a list. True Kingdom productivity flows naturally out of our ongoing relationship with Christ our King.
As we nurture our relationship with Jesus – in worship, prayer, study, meditation, and obedience to His commands, we will be fruitful. As we pause our activity to just be with Jesus and abide in Him, we will accomplish more that we could imagine. It will happen by His power and we couldn’t stop it if we tried! On the other hand, when we get so busy doing good things for Jesus that we neglect our relationship with Him, we aren’t fruitful. We get frustrated, exhausted, resentful, and burned out. But we aren’t be fruitful.
Though we’ll work hard as followers of Jesus, we must do so out of our regular rest and relationship in Christ alone. When we find our spiritual batteries running down, our heart in the wrong place, and our fruit non-existent, we mustn’t double down and try harder. Instead, we must refocus on abiding in Jesus. Invest in your relationship with Jesus at all times and let Him direct, guide, and empower all your activity on His behalf. Apart from Him, you can do nothing!