Life Shared, Life Fruitful
A lamp cannot shine without its source of power, just as our lives cannot bear fruit apart from Jesus, our true vine.
Devotional Credit: Day by Day by Grace by Bob Hoekstra
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Bob Hoekstra draws our attention today to one of the most beautiful promises in Scripture, the reality of shared life with Jesus. Peter calls it an exceedingly great and precious promise that we may become partakers of the divine nature, not in becoming divine ourselves, but in experiencing the life of God expressed through us. This is the same truth that Paul declared when he said it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
Hoekstra points us to Jesus’ teaching in John 15 as the clearest picture of this promise. Jesus used the vine and branches to show us that life and fruitfulness do not originate in us. Branches cannot bear fruit of themselves. Cut off from the vine, they wither and become useless. But when they remain connected, life flows freely, and fruit is the natural result. In the same way, Jesus says, without Me you can do nothing.
This is not a call to strain harder but an invitation to abide. Fruit is never the result of the branch trying harder to be fruitful. It is the result of life flowing from the vine into the branch. When we rest in Jesus, trusting Him as our source moment by moment, His life produces in us what we could never produce on our own.
Hoekstra reminds us that humility and faith are the pathway to this kind of living. Humility acknowledges that we cannot produce godliness from self-effort. Faith lays hold of the life of Jesus within us. Together, they position us to experience the promise of shared life, where His sufficiency flows into our insufficiency, and His fruit is displayed in us for the glory of God.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My beloved, I have given you promises that are exceedingly great and precious, that you may share in My life. You are not left to yourself to produce what pleases Me. You are joined to My Son, and His life is your life.
Abide in Him, for He is the vine and you are the branch. As you remain in Him, fruit will come. Not because you strive, but because His life flows in you. Without Him you can do nothing, but with Him you live in the abundance of His sufficiency. Do not look within to find power. Do not turn to your flesh to make yourself fruitful. Look to Jesus, who lives in you, and rest in His indwelling presence.
When you walk in humility, you admit your need. When you walk in faith, you trust that He is enough. Together, humility and faith keep you in the place where His Spirit expresses life through you. Every moment you remain in Him, you live not out of your weakness but out of His strength, not out of your striving but out of His fullness. This is your privilege as one who belongs to Me, to live by the shared life of My Son within you.
Scripture References: 2 Peter 1:4, Galatians 2:20, John 15:4-5, Romans 6:6-11, Philippians 2:13, Ephesians 3:16-19, Colossians 1:27, Colossians 2:9-10, Philippians 4:19.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a lamp plugged into a wall outlet. The lamp itself cannot produce light. The bulb and shade may be designed beautifully, but without connection to the source of power, it remains dark. Only when the lamp stays plugged in does the flow of electricity bring the light it was made to shine.
In the same way, when I walk through my day, I can quietly rest in the truth that my life is not about trying harder to produce fruit. It is about staying connected to the source of life. Today, when I sense weakness, I can whisper, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this very moment,” and watch as His light shines where mine never could.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You for the promise of shared life. I rejoice that I do not live out of my own strength, but by Your life flowing within me. I acknowledge that without You I can do nothing, but with You, fruit is the natural outflow. Thank You that humility and faith bring me into the place where Your sufficiency is always enough. I rest today in the truth that Your life in me is all I need.