Being a Christian means living a life of Christ, for Christ, in Christ, and with Christ, loving God and neighbor so much that we forget ourselves. It means keeping God’s commandments. Being a Christian also means changing often to become more like Christ.
As Christians, we repent when we fail to rise to the dignity to which God and faith call us. Conversion is a “pruning” of our “branches.” God wishes us to bear fruits; hence, God prunes us in Christ when our sinfulness removes us from God, or when we cause hurt through idolizing who we are or what we exclusively claim.
To remain in Christ, we must fear the Lord. But not as we would a tyrant: to fear God is to live in grateful communion of heart and soul to a God whose love is stronger than death. It is to reverence God in our hearts and conduct, giving glory by our witnessing in the world.
It is such a joy that, being grafted in the True Vine of Jesus, we receive the consolation of the Holy Spirit. What a privilege to feel the gentle wind that floods our souls when we lift our hearts in prayer, abandoning ourselves into the hands of God! Let us pray today for those who are cut off from the True Vine by tragedy or evil. Jesus’ blood shed on the cross is like cool waters that refresh the Lord’s vineyard, God’s people, across the ages. Let us allow God to water our lives with the freshness of the Spirit.
Questions for meditation
Living for, in, and with Christ: does this describe me? Have I changed recently? Have those changes moved me toward Christ or away from him? Do my branches need pruning to become more fruit-bearing?
