John 15:1 I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.
Jesus is the true vine. God the Father (Papa) the gardener. Me, Randi, I am just a branch.
I am neither the vine that produces life or the gardener that lay out the garden and tends the vine and its branches. I am just a branch. Nothing more or less. Just a branch.
But as a branch I do get to actively take part. I choose to live and produce good fruit with my life. How?
Jesus tells us in His own words that if I remain in Him, as He remains in me I can and will bear fruit. And that I will be pruned by the Father (the gardener) to even produce more of that fruit.
So, what is that fruit? Papa tells us that the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control.
These are also attributes of God that He shares and cause to grow in our lives as we grow deeper into our relationship with Him. "Remain in me as I remain in you."
I remember once years ago that we as a corporate group of believers were having a day of worship. We had broken into groups and each group was to lead an hour of worship for whole group to participate in. My group had planned 3 different areas that people could go and reflect and actively participate in. One was we had hanging from a tree a variety of fruit. Each piece of fruit had a paper leaf attached to it with one of the Fruit of the Spirit. We were to go and find the Fruit of the Spirit that we were wanting more of in our lives and eat of that. (I know that this can sound strange and symbolic to many if not all of you... but the world and the Bible is full of symbolic events.) So, we were to ask God to bring about more of this particular fruit in our lives.
So through prayer, reflection and choosing actively to focus on that particular Fruit of the Spirit in our lives, we began to see how our lives began to change. To be transformed more and more (in my case by slow sometimes painful steps) into the image of Christ. Jesus says in John 15:8 that this is to His Fathers glory. that we bear fruit and that by doing this we show to the world we are His disciples. His children.
But again, the choice is ours to make. If we choose to do nothing. If we choose by our lack of choosing to not partake of this rich life. It is our choice that determines what happens to us. Papa chose us first. He chose us already. I must choose Him. I am not the gardener. I am just a branch. But I will choose Him. I will choose to bear His fruit and bless Him. My God, Father, Maker and Sustainer of life.
Papa, I choose you.