Even Redwoods Don’t Stand Alone

John 15 and the relationships beneath a fruitful life

By Pastor John Erickson

There is a message we hear over and over again: be independent. Stand on your own feet. Don't need anybody. Be self-sufficient.

And while there is something to be said for responsibility, the Bible tells a very different story about what it means to flourish.

You cannot do it alone.

I know. That is terribly inconvenient for those of us who would prefer to handle our problems privately, find a solution, and emerge only when everything is neatly resolved.

But we were created for connection.

Think about a redwood forest

I remember visiting the redwood forest in California as a kid. Pictures do not prepare you for the scale of those trees. Standing beside them, I struggled to take in just how enormous they were.

Redwood trees are astonishing. They tower above the landscape, sometimes standing for centuries. You can look at one and imagine that its strength comes from a massive root driving deep into the earth.

But redwoods are often sustained by broad, interwoven root systems. Neighboring trees help stabilize one another.

There's an image worth sitting with.

We admire the height of a tree. We don't see much of what helps it stand.

The same can be true of a person. You might see somebody who is spiritually strong and assume they became that way by sheer determination. But look beneath the surface, and there are usually people: friends who prayed, someone who corrected them, mentors who listened, a family or community that held them up in difficult seasons.

Jesus didn't describe isolated branches

In John 15, Jesus calls himself the vine and his followers the branches. His teaching is clear: branches don't bear fruit on their own. They have to remain connected to the vine.

We need Jesus. That's the foundation.

But notice how Jesus keeps talking: remain in his love, love one another, follow his commands. Connection to Christ isn't a private mystical achievement that makes other people irrelevant. It creates a new kind of relationship with them.

If our idea of abiding makes us less patient, less generous, and less willing to love the people around us, we might want to check what we're calling spiritual maturity.

Christianity is a shared life

Paul takes the picture further in 1 Corinthians 12. The church is one body with many parts. An eye cannot tell a hand that it isn't needed. A head can't dismiss the feet. Each part belongs to the others.

Think about how strange that is compared with our ordinary instincts.

We usually organize life around our individual goals. My growth. My gifts. My calling. My personal relationship with Jesus.

Those things matter, but they aren't the whole story. Scripture says we are being formed into a people.

Our decisions affect one another. Our generosity can strengthen someone who is weak. Our selfishness can make someone else's burden heavier. When one member suffers, the body suffers; when one rejoices, the body can rejoice.

Nobody gets to be the entire body, no matter how gifted they are.

The people around you are shaping you

This is something we don't always notice. We become like the people we spend time with.

If your closest relationships are marked by cynicism, eventually cynicism starts sounding normal. If you're surrounded by generosity, kindness becomes easier to imagine. If you have friends who speak truth with love, it gives you a place to grow without having to pretend you're perfect.

I have played on several adult softball teams. I was never the best player. I do not think I was the worst either, although someone who played with me might want a word. Somewhere in the middle to lower end of the pack seems fair.

A competitive team can try to improve by replacing its weakest players. The church cannot treat people that way. We do not move someone to the edges because they are not impressive enough. Jesus moves toward people in weakness, and we are meant to do the same.

Community isn't automatically healthy. People can wound one another. Churches can be difficult places. Belonging requires wisdom, boundaries, and sometimes hard conversations.

Still, the answer to imperfect community isn't pretending we were designed to live apart from everyone.

Jesus invites us to become the sort of people who help one another flourish.

More than showing up

It's possible to attend a church for years without allowing anyone to know you.

You learn the songs. You know where to get the coffee. Maybe you even have a favorite seat. But the people around you have no idea what you're carrying.

That's being present in a room, not necessarily being rooted in a body.

What would it look like to let someone in? To invite a person into your life who could encourage you or tell you the truth? To notice somebody else who needs a friend, and to be that friend?

The connections that help us stand don't form instantly. They grow through meals, conversations, prayers, service, and the decision to keep showing up with honesty.

Flourishing is something we do together

If you want to grow, cultivate your relationship with Jesus. Pray. Read Scripture. Make room for his voice.

And then do something else: make room for his people.

The strongest tree in the forest may not be the one standing apart. It may be the one whose roots are deeply connected.

You were never meant to be a solitary branch trying to produce fruit through grit and determination.

You were created to remain in Jesus and grow alongside his people.