The way in which I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior was such a blessing. I went through many studies with a wonderful & small team of guys lead by the man who would become our Pastor with the aim of starting a reformed home church. As such we learned many lessons including “Adding Jesus to Your Life,” although I don’t imagine that was the title. I learned incredible truths about the faith and I’d like to share this one today.
Many of us today add things to make our lives better – a new exercise habit, a healthier diet, an add-on to our web browser for safer web surfing, any number of New Year’s Resolutions – and sometimes people try adding Jesus to their lives. Sometimes folks even figure, “Well I’ve heard of this Christian thing, I think I’ll give Jesus a try and see if my life gets better.”
John 15:5 says:
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.
So there’s the vine, branches and fruit being discussed, and you may have caught at the very end, the vine’s dependence upon the branch. For this writing we won’t go into fruit except to say that it represents good things in a Christ followers life that indicate his heart, the thing he values (and admittedly it’s an oversimplification). The Apostle John is using the language of farming to describe that Jesus (the branch) is the source of life for the Christian (the vine). The last line “for apart from me you can do nothing” points out the vines dependence from the branch. If you cut a vine away from it’s branch it will fall to the ground and die because it has been separated from the branch from which it gets the water it needs to live.
What I’m getting at here, dear friends, is that Christians were meant to be “grafted in”, or added to the branch. Jesus isn’t meant to be grafted in to us because we’re not the source of life. If you want to give Jesus a try to see if he can help you in the way you might try a new flavor added into your favorite beverage then you may be very disappointed (adding Jesus). If on the other hand you give Jesus a try because you are in a desperate situation and you see no other way out, you may find a new way of living that’s a blessing beyond compare (this may be adding or accepting Christ). BUT, if you come to Jesus to accept him into your life because you know deep in your heart that he came into this world as a man, and he died on a cross for your sins and you believe that only Christ can forgive these sins and you believe these things with all your heart, then my friend, you are on a very good path, one that very well may enrich your life, but also much more (accepting Christ).
I’m not a writer or a Pastor or anything, so this writing may leave you with more questions than answers. I’d encourage you to get a bible if you don’t already have one, and if you want to know even more then connect with a solid, bible teaching church. In this day it is sometimes hard to find a solid, bible teaching church since churches have made headlines recently for accepting ideas that are contrary to what the ancient scriptures of the bible teach, so you may have to look hard, and pray for understanding an guidance. I pray the Lord will bless your journey as you seek him, and that the truth of Jesus Christ may be found in you.
My Walk with Jesus Christ 