Flexible & Fruitful Not Brittle & Barren

If you’ve been around grapevines at all, you know they have a certain “viney” quality about them (probably why we call them grapeVINES). I know, “viney” isn’t really a word. What I’m driving at is—they’re flexible.

At my parents house, when we would prune our grapevines, we often used the trimmed “branches” to make decorative wreaths.

Grapevines bend, adjust, move, yield… they are flexible.

Our grapevines were fruitful too. Actually, they still are.

It was 30 years ago that our family moved to the house with grapevines. We didn’t know how old the grapevines were when we got there, but they were mature and already producing fruit.

Now, 30 years later, they are still producing fruit.

Yea for homemade grape juice!

Did you know that grapevines can live and produce fruit for over 120 years? That’s impressive.

They are flexible and they are fruitful—pretty much the opposite of brittle and barren.

In John chapter 15, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.” —John 15.5 NLT

The Message Bible puts it this way:

I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you… the harvest is sure to be abundant.

Embracing our place in the Vine means we will be flexible and fruitful, not brittle and barren.

Grapevines do this quite naturally. Being flexible and fruitful is normative, not the exception.

I believe flexibility (bending, adjusting, moving, yielding) is key to fruitfulness.

Rigid, brittle, uptight, unmoving, stiff Christians will always struggle to produce more life (kingdom growth). And their efforts come across as forced, awkward, and weird.

On the other hand, flexible Christians are naturally fruitful. There’s nothing forced or weird about it.

This is just who we are. We are in Him. Our life and strength and source is in Christ.

Our job is simply to be in Him—to remain. Our job is to embrace our place in the Vine.

And as we live in Him, the harvest is sure to be abundant.

Imagine: bumper crops. Overflowing. More than can be contained.

That’s what I see for our church. I see flexible Christians who are naturally fruitful. I see bumper crops. I see challenges keeping up with the harvest. I see space limitations. I see much fruit.

Let’s do our job together. Let’s embrace our place in the Vine.

And in our place, we will be flexible and fruitful.