5 Truths I Learned by Abiding in the Vine

What did Jesus mean by abiding in the vine—and how does this apply to life today?

“Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2 ESV)

I used to drive my car without ever checking the oil.

I’d just go off the sticker on my windshield—the one that told me when to get my oil changed. I’d hit that mileage, take the car in, and go on with life. It was routine. Reliable. No problems—until there was one.

One day, my car stalled… a thousand miles before the scheduled oil change. Turns out, it was completely out of oil. The dipstick was bone dry, save for a smudge of black tar on the tip. The engine could’ve been ruined!

That moment taught me a lesson: I can’t just trust that everything is all right. I have to regularly stop and check under the hood.

The same goes for my spiritual life.

I can’t just coast along, assuming that just because I see no external problems, everything inside is fine. A few months ago, I hit that spiritual stall.

I felt dry. Like my oil tank. Not totally disconnected, but my spirit felt less than vibrant.

The fire I once had—the sense of being called by God and led by the Holy Spirit—felt distant. So I prayed and asked God to bring back the sense of vitality I once knew.

God then began to reveal the parts of me that needed to be changed. I was forced to confront things about myself that I had neglected, to take a look under the hood and recognize the gunk that needed to be flushed out.

In church language, I was convicted of my need to repent.

It was painful—like being cut, reminding me of something Jesus said:

“I am the vine, you are the branches…Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:5, 2 ESV).

Now, in English, this could sound a bit harsh, conjuring up images of branches ruthlessly getting chopped off and trashed. But in the original Greek, there’s a deeper nuance.

That phrase rendered as “takes away”? It can also mean “lifts up.” Think of a gardener lifting a sagging branch. And the word “prunes”? In Greek, the word is kathairō, which also means “cleans.” That same root word shows up again in verse 3, where it says, “Already you are clean” and in 1 John 1:9, where it says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

With this in mind, the verse can also be interpreted as follows: Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he lifts up, and every branch that does bear fruit he cleans, that it may bear more fruit.

So what feels like removal is actually refinement. What feels like pain is a loving correction from God, the vinedresser (John 15:1). It’s all for a greater purpose: that we may bear more fruit.

I needed a refresher on what it means to spiritually abide in the vine—to be lifted up and cleaned by pruning and taking away the unfruitful parts of me.

Here are 5 truths I learned by abiding in the vine, Jesus Christ.

1. It Begins with Admitting We’re a Mess

Just like I had neglected to check my car’s oil, I was neglecting the state of my own heart.

I had to stop and do an honest self-assessment, bringing the darkness in my heart into the light.

I had to confess that I was a mess and needed God’s help.

When we confront our sins and turn away from them, we steer away from darkness and walk in the light (1 John 1: 5–10), making room for more of the Holy Spirit’s work in us. It’s like spring cleaning, clearing out the junk you don’t need around the house to declutter and make space, or draining the old oil from your car engine for a long overdue oil change.

Or snipping off a withered branch.

The first step in pruning was to see what needs to be cut off and taken away. And what I found was the sin of covetousness brewing in my own heart.

But why was I coveting so much?

2. My Faith Was Being Choked by the Cares of the World

Mounting bills, growing to-do lists, unfulfilled responsibilities… In the midst of it all, prayer was becoming an afterthought.

It wasn’t always this way. It was a gradual slide into complacency.

When I first committed my life to Jesus, I learned to pray, trust in God, and surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit. God has always provided for my family and me, time and time again. But as I get older and my perceived “safety nets” fall away, I find myself growing increasingly anxious about the future.

I had forgotten to pray and give thanks rather than be anxious (Phil 4:6-7).

I had forgotten to seek first the rule and righteousness of God, trusting that all other things will be provided by God (Matt 6:33).

I had let the worries of this world crowd out God’s word in my life—just as Jesus described in the parable of the sower, where some seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked them (Matthew 13:7). He later explained that the seeds represent faith and the thorns represent “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches” that choke them (v. 22).

That’s where I was—my mind so consumed by life’s anxieties that there was little space left for thoughts of God. Which led me to the next realization:

3. I Trusted in Other Things More Than God

The refrain, “If I only had more money…” constantly echoed through my head. If I only had more money, my kids could get a better education and go on to have more lucrative careers than I did, live in a nicer house in a nicer neighborhood, drive newer cars…

I was trusting in idols for my kids’ futures rather than in the Author of their lives.

Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

At the time this verse was written, horses and chariots were symbols of status and power. Few people owned a chariot or the horses strong enough to pull them. But God is the One who created the horses and drives the chariot of our lives—if we only surrender the reins.

I needed to realign my trust, placing it in the name of the Lord rather than in the “horsepower” we chase today, like wealth, status, titles, and prestige. These are the false gods we think can save us.

As I repented of my idolatry, I sighed, “God, I just wanted my kids to have a better life than I did.”

Then, a still, small voice rang in my spirit. “And what’s wrong with your life?”

A sense of conviction cut me to the heart, for I had no answer. I have nothing to complain about. God has graced me with so much in my life already—treasures that cannot be bought or earned—and I was being ungrateful because I fell for the lie that I just don’t have enough.

“But you still don’t have that…” Literally the oldest lie in The Book, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Which brings me to:

4. I Was Coveting What I Don’t Have Instead of Being Thankful for What I Do

In Genesis, Adam and Eve had everything they could have ever wanted—living in a lush paradise, having one another for companionship, with no worries, no need to strive, and no fear of death, all in the very presence of God—but their cunning enemy got them to focus on the one thing they couldn’t have: the fruit God told them not to eat (Gen 2:17).

Their determination to have that one thing, which was not part of God’s will for them, ultimately led to the fallen world we live in.

It’s such a human thing to always want more. Remember in Exodus, when the Israelites were freed from slavery and, while escaping through the desert, God provided them with manna to eat every day (Exodus 16)? They didn’t have to hunt for it or work the land to grow it. They just had to wake up, pick it up off the ground, and eat.

Free food, easy to get and readily available. Yet, that wasn’t good enough for them.

They complained, “Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at” (Numbers 11:4b-6).

Sure, they could eat fish with all the trimmings when they were back in Egypt… where they were slaves.

Would they rather remain enslaved to the Egyptians just to enjoy a handful of comforts than to live in freedom on what God provides?

We face this same question today. Sure, I could enjoy more worldly comforts in my life if I wanted to go into deeper debt. But God’s wisdom says that “the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Prov 22:7). I don’t want to live enslaved to creditors just to enjoy a few “treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matt 6:19).

Isn’t it better to live in God’s freedom, on what God provides, than to live in slavery to forces outside of God’s will?

5. The Fruit of Abiding in the Vine is Love

Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8). But what exactly is that fruit?

In today’s world, we often associate fruit with the results of our efforts or the progress we’re making in our lives spiritually, professionally, or personally.

More people coming to our ministry events. More wisdom and peace at work. More joy in our lives—and yes, joy is one of the fruit. After Jesus talks about abiding in the vine, he says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

But Jesus immediately follows with, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (v.12).

In the greater context of this passage about abiding in the vine, the fruit Jesus is talking about is love—agape love, a love that esteems others, holds others in warm regard, and takes a deep interest in others’ interests.

We aren’t naturally wired to love others above ourselves. It takes a divine kind of love to do this, which is why we need to abide in Jesus and draw this love from God the way a branch draws water from the vine. “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (v.9). We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19).

When we look at the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—we find a list of attributes that affect our interactions with the people around us. The world will know that we follow Jesus “if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

I came to see that the reason I was withering as a branch was because I was too focused on me: my needs, my hopes, my desires. But as I abided in Jesus’ love and focused on God—the Almighty Creator who set the stars in place, yet shows love, mercy, and grace to the insignificant speck that I am—my perspective shifted.

Instead of obsessing over what I don’t have, I gave thanks for what God has already given me, starting with the free gift of salvation.

I remembered the times that God has poured grace upon me throughout my entire life—even during tough times when I might not have noticed it.

I saw the folly of putting my trust in my little idols rather than trusting in the everlasting God who is ever faithful.

And, as I purged the burnt oil out of my spiritual engine, I made more room for the fresh, life-giving oil of the Holy Spirit to fill me and renew my understanding of God’s love—a selfless, gracious love that is meant to flow through us and out onto others.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” (John 15:16-17 ESV)