I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.— John 15:5
I’ll have more to say, but for now this is what came to me. My dad was by no means perfect, but he is the dad that God graced to me. He abided in Jesus and cast seeds into every kind of soil. He watered wherever he went. He bore fruit and rejoiced as he went along.
As an unbeliever, I thought I could do just as much good as he did, but when I was given eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart of flesh it became clear that without Jesus I could do nothing.
My dad was patient and kind. He never told me as an adult to behave differently. He told me to encounter Jesus through the Bible. For me to play the part without Jesus would only heap condemnation upon myself.
Instead, he introduced me to the vine and I was grafted in. Receiving the nourishment from the vine I was changed. Now I can live authentically and can bear fruit. If you are apart from Jesus I beg you to seek Him earnestly. If your love has cooled I beg you to drink freely from the vine.
