A new addition in the Bible!!

I have a growing fascination--attraction might be a better word--with the Bible. The more experience I accumulate the more “true-to-life” the scripture seems to be! I know, I know...it's really just me that has changed. Still, I find some long-time familiar passages seem as fresh as if they had just recently been added.

For instance, last week I read John 15:1-8. You probably know it. It's the time when Jesus was talking to his disciples using the metaphor of the vine and branches. "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." (John 15:4, NIV) I've always thought of that verse legalistically: “remaining in me” is obtained by obedience to him. However, according to the broader context, it seems more likely that obedience IS the fruit...the result of remaining in him. To put it in other terms, it's not obedience that brings spirituality it's spirituality that brings obedience!

I know it's both: obedience results in remaining in him and remaining in him results in obedience. But I wonder how much more joy and satisfaction I might have in my Christian journey if my obedience was viewed less as a task (or burden) to do and more of as a result of my closeness to Him. What do you think?