DAILY DEVOTION, May 6, 2021

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

We all know the difference between a thermostat and a thermometer. A thermometer tells you the temperature but does nothing to change it. A thermostat changes the temperature. True Christians are like the thermostat. When we become attached to Christ, the Vine, his life and power flow to us and through us, even as the life of a vine flows into the branches. The result is that we are changed. We begin to bear fruit, much fruit.

This verse becomes a test of the reality of our faith. Does our faith in Jesus change us? Are we bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God? We cannot produce spiritual fruit apart from Jesus. As we trust (abide) in Him, spiritual fruit begins to be produced. Various kinds of good works appear in the life of those who trust Jesus.

Paul describes this change as becoming new persons. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). Faith is not a thermometer. It is a thermostat that changes things.

Holy Father, I want to be a fruit-bearing Christian. I don’t want to just give verbal assent to my faith with little fruit in evidence. I want to bear a lot of fruit. I know I can’t bear fruit on my own efforts. I need to daily trust in Jesus and allow His life to flow into me. In His name, I pray, Amen.