“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:1-8
During 2026, Peachtree Church is inviting everyone into Cultivate, a churchwide discipleship plan centered on the fruit of the Spirit and the kind of life God longs to grow in us. Throughout the year, we’ll explore how love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control take shape in everyday life through the Spirit’s work. Cultivate brings together worship, Scripture, group guides, and meaningful practices designed to meet you where you are and support growth in ways that fit your season. These twice-weekly devotionals are one way to stay connected, offering reflection and grounding for daily life with God. Whether you engage in many ways or just one, you’re invited to be part of this shared journey of becoming more rooted in who God has created and called you to be.
Devotional
In the unlikely event that I had become a scientist, I think I would have been a botanist. I inherited from my rural born mother a keen interest in plants, flowers, and trees. Interest doesn’t really equate to skill. I don’t have a green thumb; for example, whenever we visit the Botanical Gardens, I look around at the flourishing plants and can say, as I admire the flowers and shrubs, “I’ve killed one of those, and some of those over there, and one of those, too.”
Jesus knew all his listeners would deeply understand anything he said about plant life, particularly food crops. It would have been an everyday sight to see people tending gardens, orchards, vineyards, and fields. In our Scripture for this week, Jesus uses the vine metaphor to talk about the relationship between the Father, himself, and the believers. He says that the Father is the gardener, he is the vine, and that we believers are the fruitful branches of that vine. Jesus stresses the idea of pruning, and the vital importance of remaining firmly connected to the vine if we are to be fruitful. As Rich has been teaching us this month, God created us to be fruitful.
The word for prune in Greek is related to making something clean. Every branch that does not bear fruit the gardener prunes or cleans. Jesus speaks about his word as having made us clean. There is something about hearing Jesus’ words that cleans and prunes us.
Right now, in my backyard, we are watching over several shrubs planted in the spring of last year that are suffering somewhat. They don’t look good. I pruned off the dead looking parts at the end of summer, and we are waiting to see if they can rebound and come back to life in the spring. I knew enough to look for greener wood and leave that attached to the shrub, and to take off the gray dead wood, which there was a lot of (you see what an amazing gardener I am.) God willing, those poor lopsided bushes may live and flourish given enough water and care.
Besides pruning, Jesus talks over and over of the importance of believers remaining connected to him, just as a healthy, fruiting branch is strongly connected to the main vine. If we don’t want to suffer the fate of a pruned-off dead branch, which is put into a bonfire, then we must remain connected to Jesus.
As I write, Christmas is just past. This year, we had the tallest Christmas tree we have ever had. It was the last big one on the truck and the tree delivery man offered it to us for the same cost as our regular size tree. We watered it attentively and yet we noticed, there was a big central branch that was getting crispy and brown (you see my professional gardening terms there.) When I poked my head deeply in towards the trunk, I saw that it had broken off close to the trunk. It wasn’t connected anymore. It wasn’t getting the water I was offering it. And it was dead. I pulled it out and took it to the firewood pile.
Jesus asks us to remain in him, for our own benefit, for our own continued lives, so that we can give him the good fruit we were made to bear. Because as he says, apart from him, we can do nothing. As we come into this new year, let’s allow ourselves to be pruned and cleaned by the Lord, so that we can give him the fruit of our lives.
For Reflection
- How does Jesus’ word clean or prune us?
- What is there in us that needs to be pruned, so that we are ready to produce fruit?
- What is the fruit we were created to produce?
- Have you had seasons of life when your connection to Jesus was strongly tested
Prayer
Dear Lord, I come to you thinking I can be successful through my own efforts. But there is so much in me that is a dead end, a bad habit, a waste of my time and yours. Lord, I want to remain connected deeply to you, being cleaned by your Word, being refreshed by your living water. I want to offer you good fruit, the goodness that comes from my living close to you. Lord, apart from you, I can do nothing. But in you, I can bear good fruit, which I lay at your feet. From the branch to the vine, Amen.
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