"Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NLT).
Most people strive for independence and self-sufficiency. It’s natural, at least for fallen humans in all our fears and insecurities. We want to be taken care of, and we can hardly trust others to do it for us. So we assume we have to take care of ourselves.
That’s a frustrating journey, and it’s not the way of the kingdom. Jesus urged his followers not to declare their independence but to embrace their full dependence on him. We’re branches, and every bit of life and power we get depends on our connection with the vine. Our own lives are short and impotent; his is eternal and powerful. Ours will wither away; his will thrive forever. Which one do we want? His, of course. And we can only get it by faith and embracing his identity and his righteousness as our own. We live by being branches of the everlasting tree.
Branches don’t strive for life. They rest in the source. If you really want spiritual life and power, you’ll have to learn to rest well—to draw your life from the vine and depend fully on him. That goes against our instincts, but it’s the kingdom way. Giving up your independence puts you in a place of dependence—and connects you with the source of life himself.
