John 15:⁴ Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.

Jesus uses the image of a grapevine, and its rhythm of bearing fruit and then pruning, to describe the life of a disciple. Just like much of the plant world, human beings are not designed to be fruitful year-around. We have seasons of productivity and then, hopefully, seasons of rest – or what Jesus calls here “abiding”. Without abiding time Christians cannot be fruitful.

I’m taking some abiding time this week and will be back on Monday, June 21st. Please pray for me and my family as we take time away for vacation. It’s been a very long and often difficult 15 months, yet through it all God has been faithful. And so I place my trust in the Lord to step away for a bit of renewal. Lord, let it be so. Amen.

See you on the 21st.