Apart from Christ I am Nothing

This is Day 4 of my 40 day Lenten Blog.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5.

Christ is the vine and I am the branch. But how can a branch exist without the vine? It cannot. The branch grows out of the vine. It is formed from material from the vine. It receives its life from the vine. If it is cut off from the vine, the source of its life, it withers and dies. Without the vine the branch would never even exist. Without the vine the branch is nothing.

Oh, if only I could learn this lesson. Without Christ I am nothing. Without Him I have no life, I have no purpose, I just wither and die. I cannot exist at all without Christ. He is the vine that gives me my life, that provides the material for me to produce fruit. It is only by surrendering to His life-giving grace that I will be successful in all that He wishes me to do and to grow into the man He wishes me to be.

Yet, all too often I see myself as surviving, existing, working, and growing all on my own. I see the fruit of my life coming from my own triumphs. But how can I triumph without the One that gives me life, that sustains me, that guides my path? I cannot. Apart from Christ I can do nothing. Apart from Christ, I am nothing.

R.C. VanLandingham is the author of the Peter Puckett series, a Christian children's fantasy that explores what it means to know and love Christ through exciting adventures. His books and blog can be found at rcvanlandingham.com.