John 15:5

Back in September of this year, I was thinking a lot about John 15:5: "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" (English Standard Version). It's a neat verse. I love it when God uses good analogies and imagery in His Word. It makes it so much easier to understand! Anyway, I was thinking about the verse and what it meant for me. Sometimes it seems like my life isn't very fruitful. I often feel that I don't really accomplish anything useful. So this was a neat verse to remind me that whether it seems like it or not, if I'm abiding in Christ, I will bear fruit. That was an encouragement to me, and I couldn't help but picture the imagery in my head. I pictured a big thick vine with a branch rooted in it, and that branch was bearing a bunch of grapes. Immediately I began thinking of how I could create my ideas into a photograph.

Now you may be wondering where in the world I am going to get a picture of a vine, branches, and grapes. Well, I wondered that too, but I had an idea. So one evening I went outside with my camera to a slope to the south of our house (one of these days I'll post a map!). On this slope, on the edge of the woods, we have some wild grape vines. I thought that just maybe I could use these to get what I wanted. It also just so happened to be their season, and the vines were loaded with wild grapes! However, the vines were tiny, never more than a quarter of an inch thick. There was, however, a thin tree that the vines were wrapped around, and I thought it might just pass for a vine. So, after trying several different angles and taking a lot of shots, I finally got one that I liked. So I took it inside, and in a short while put the verse on it, and walla-walla-poof, it was done! Here's what I got.

The picture may not be all that I had in mind, but it still serves as a reminder to be sure that I'm abiding in the Vine. If I abide in Him, I will bear all kinds of sweet fruit for Him, but apart from Him, I can do nothing.