It’s a Good Thing. That Doesn’t Mean You Have to Keep Doing It.

John 15 and the difference between staying busy and abiding in Jesus

By Pastor John Erickson

Have you ever had something in your life that was good, productive, and meaningful-and then sensed that it might be time to let it go?

That's hard.

It's one thing to stop doing something that's obviously unhealthy. It's another thing entirely when God seems to be inviting you to set aside something that has actually been fruitful.

But Jesus gives us a pretty remarkable picture in John 15.

He says he is the true vine, we are the branches, and the Father is the gardener.

And the gardener prunes.

Even branches that are bearing fruit.

More Growth Doesn't Always Mean More Fruit

If you've ever seen an untended grapevine, it can grow in all kinds of directions. Leaves everywhere. Branches tangled together. It might look impressive from a distance.

But a big vine is not necessarily a fruitful vine.

A gardener sometimes cuts away growth so that the plant can use its energy to produce healthy fruit.

It's counterintuitive, isn't it? Cut away something that appears to be thriving so something better can grow.

And here's where that challenges me: I can become very good at growing activity in my life.

More commitments. More projects. More meetings. More things that make me look busy and productive.

But are those things actually producing the kind of fruit God wants?

Or have I become a really impressive-looking vine with very little fruit on it?

God Doesn't Only Prune What Is Bad

We usually imagine pruning as God removing our obvious problems. A harmful habit. A destructive relationship. An unhealthy attitude.

And sometimes that's exactly the work he does.

But John 15:2 says branches that bear fruit are pruned so that they can bear more fruit.

That means a good thing may not be a permanent thing.

Maybe a particular way of serving was exactly right for one season. Maybe a ministry or habit helped you grow. And now God is inviting you into something different.

We naturally evaluate things based on what we can see today. Is it working? Is it comfortable? Have I invested years in it?

But God sees a bigger picture than we do.

I have experienced this in the way I approach Scripture. My comfortable pattern was to begin with several hours of study, engaging my mind, and then let the passage work its way into my heart. That was a good pattern, and I had seen fruit from it.

But while working through John 15, I sensed an invitation to begin differently: prayer, worship, and reading the passage slowly before taking notes. I read it ten or fifteen times and tried to attend to God before organizing my thoughts about Him.

It was uncomfortable. I started one day, received an email that stirred up my anger, and had to return to the practice the next day. A different approach did not make me instantly serene. It showed me how easily I could rely on what had worked before rather than stay open to God.

The old habit was not bad. That was what made the invitation challenging.

That's why pruning requires trust. We don't get to act as our own gardener and assume we always know what should stay and what should go.

Abide Means More Than Being Nearby

Jesus uses the word abide again and again in this passage. Some translations say remain.

The Greek word, menō, carries the sense of staying, continuing, or remaining in a place or relationship.

That sounds simple, but I think we make it complicated.

We can be very close to something without truly being connected to it.

Think about a married couple spending an hour on the couch, each looking at a separate phone. They're right next to each other. Same couch. Same room.

But are they connecting?

Now compare that with five minutes of genuine, face-to-face conversation. Listening. Paying attention. Being present.

Which one strengthens the relationship more?

Our walk with Jesus can have the same problem. We confuse being around Christian activities with actually abiding in him.

We can attend church, volunteer, read a passage, listen to a sermon, and still keep our hearts at a distance.

Those practices are good. But they are not substitutes for relationship.

Apart from Me You Can Do Nothing

Jesus says in John 15:5 that those who remain in him bear much fruit, because apart from him they can do nothing.

That's a pretty strong statement.

It's also a relief.

The fruit is not finally dependent on my ability to push harder, become more impressive, or manage the outcomes of everybody around me.

I need to remain connected to Christ.

That includes prayer that is actually honest. Scripture that I let challenge me. Obedience when I don't feel like it. And quiet time with God that isn't just another box on my productivity checklist.

The more I study this passage, the more I realize that spiritual disciplines don't make God love me. They help me attend to the relationship I already have with him.

What Might God Be Asking You to Release?

Maybe the thing God is pruning isn't an obvious vice.

It might be a good commitment that has crowded out better relationships. A successful routine that no longer produces growth. A way of serving that has slowly become a way of avoiding the deeper work in your own heart.

I'm not suggesting we should abandon good things whenever we feel restless. Discernment takes prayer, Scripture, wisdom, and often good conversations with people who know us.

But we should at least be willing to ask the question.

God, is there something in my life that was good for a season but needs to be released?

What would it look like to trust the gardener?

And how might my life change if I spent less energy trying to look like a healthy vine and more energy simply remaining connected to Jesus?

Because he doesn't call us first to be impressive.

He calls us to abide.