John 15:5 – He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit.
We have often heard people say, “Nobody ever gave me a single thing. I did this all myself.” Isn’t that blasphemy? I don’t say this to downplay people and their accomplishments but isn’t it even more gratifying to know that the gifts and achievements in life are a sign of His presence, His touch in our life? He that abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit, (***for without me you can do nothing.***) Shouldn’t that make us think twice before using those two four-letter words “self-made!” Not a single being is self-made. There are only two kinds of beings: Uncreated: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Created: The whole universe! Nobody succeeds in isolation. Our success always comes because of God and because someone in our life helped us.
Let us look at the various ways of abiding in Christ . St. Paul talks about grafting. When a branch is dying it is stuck into a hole in the living tree and tied. It then takes life from the tree and begins to bear fruit. In baptism you and I were taken out of a dying vine and grafted on to Christ. We are called to remain in Him, stick to Him so fruit will come out of our life.
Faith. Hope. Love. Movement 