John 15 - The Life Recovery Bible

15:1-8 God desires that our life be like the fruitful branches of a grapevine. The only way to be fruitful is to remain connected to Jesus, the vine, and to allow God, the gardener, to prune our life to stimulate growth and fruitfulness. It is God’s cultivating, weeding, and pruning in our life that brings forth spiritual fruit, character development, and progress in recovery. Just as sustenance for the desired fruit comes through the vine, so fullness of life comes through faith in Jesus Christ. We need to stay close to Jesus, the source of power and practical help for recovery.

15:15 Jesus demonstrated God’s desire to be our friend, not our taskmaster. Many of us in recovery have never experienced God on such friendly, intimate terms. Rare in our experience is the authority figure who actually seeks to confide in us and befriend us, rather than lording his power over us. So we find it hard to imagine God as a friend. Jesus urges us to trust in him. By becoming our friend, God, through Jesus, empowers us and enables us to become accountable, responsible, and trustworthy.