when Jesus says:
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-6
it is a literal interpretation as well as metaphorical.
we can do nothing without relying completely on Him.
no matter how self-reliant this world teaches us to be,
independence does not equal strength.
self-reliance is actually the opposite of God's teaching in the Word.
if we could do it all just by depending on ourselves,
then why did Jesus need to die for us?
if it was all up to us, who would need Him?
we all need to come to the place where we look
Heavenward and ask God to take the reins,
admitting that we don't know what we're doing,
and asking for help...
on our own and apart from Jesus, we can do no lasting good.
i am a perfect example of this...
each time i have 'leaned upon my own understanding',
i have screwed up my life and my relationships.
maybe not right away, but given enough time
my so-called self-reliance will cause damages galore.
it's true for us all.
let me put it another way...
we suck on our own!
i cannot succeed without leaning on Jesus...
oh sure, i might be okay at first, but ultimately i'd become the titanic,
sinking me and everyone else with me.
each time i tell God to scoot over and i take the wheel, i end up failing
and hurting myself and the people i love the most.
then God waits for me to surrender control and He quietly takes over again.
so how about a little less relying on yourself and a little more relying on Him?
'cuz you might survive on your own without Him,
but you would never truly live...
* Proverbs 3:4-6
* I Timothy 1:15
