Have you heard the story about the man who ordered a tree house over the internet? When the box arrived, it had printed on the top the words that have become every parent's nightmare: "Some assembly required."
The man began to assemble the tree house (but would you believe it?) as he laid out all the parts on the floor and began reading the instructions, he realized (to his dismay) that the instructions were indeed for a tree house? but the parts were for a sail boat!!
The next day, he sent an angry e-mail message to the company complaining about the mix-up. Back came the reply:
"We are truly sorry for the error and the mix-up and the inconvenience. However, it might make you feel better to consider the fascinating possibility that somewhere today there is a man out on a lake trying to sail your tree house."
The point is clear: To put something together, you have to have the right parts and the right instructions. This is where faith comes in. The only way you can put your life together is through faith. Faith in Jesus. That's what makes it work.
I am the true vine” is one of the seven I AM sayings in the Gospel of John and this teaching need to be understood as one these teachings. You recall some of Jesus’ I AM teachings such as I am the good shepherd; I am the door; I am the bread of life; I am the light of the world. You can see these teachings. That is, you can imagine Jesus as being a good shepherd…a door…a loaf of bread…a light. So it is with the teaching for today, I am the true vine. You can see this teaching with your imagination.
Each I AM teaching teaches us something different about Jesus Christ. “I am the vine” teaches that Jesus Christ is the energy that produces fruit/acts of love in our lives.
Jesus is the true vine, the authentic vine, the genuine vine. There are other vines that we human beings are deeply interconnected with and from which we draw life and energy but these are false vines. Such false vines can be our job, our country, our team, our city, our recreation, our hobbies, and even our family and our church. The gospel text does not focus on false vines but simply says that Jesus is the true vine.
We cannot live the Christian life and be fruitful Christians apart from Christ any more than those limbs could live after being tore off the tree trunk. Every branch draws its identity, its sustenance, it life from the vine. No two branches are alike and yet they are all the same. Paradoxical as it is, it is true. Every Christian is unique and yet every Christian is the same. Our identity is derived from the Vine. We are known by the Vine. We receive our sustenance and life from the Vine.