Remain in me,
as I remain in you. This is life at its fullest if we are able to live up to it. There are numerous examples and analogies given by Jesus to explain to us what this means. In the gospel of John today, it is the vine. He is the true vine and his Father is the vine grower. As a grower would do to have a productive yield, he begins to prune. And what he prunes is that which will not produce fruit. So if we do not live up to being productive we are taken away and thrown into the fire. There is a way that we may avoid the pruning shears and that is remaining in him as he remains in us. A simple suggestion but a difficult act. We tend to get this backwards if we are not intentionally practicing humility. Because of the word that he spoke to us we are already pruned. That is, if we receive his word as his. In this way he says, “Remain in me, as I remain in you.” To not get this backwards we must let his word reside in us and live it out to remain in him. BAR