«Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can nothing» (John 15:5).
There was a cover on my computer keyboard.
When it was new and conformed to its shape more firmly, it was easy to get confused and think the cover was actually the keyboard.
In time, it began to stretch out and peel off more easily. I used it a lot because of my job, but it also aged prematurely because I always played around peeling it off.
The keys could no longer be distinguished and I had to trust my memory. In addition, the plastic began getting thinner on the keys I used most and, little by little, it began to tear.
At one point, all that was left of that innovative cover that took care of my computer’s real keys was just a piece of plastic full of holes and pitiful blurry keys.
Like that cover, we don’t always perform the role we’ve been created to play. Although we may sometimes pretend to fulfill the purpose for our lives, it ends up becoming clear we can’t fool anyone.
Maybe the enthusiasm with which we started doing some things has now become a boring habit, something we do by heart and which little by little stops being noticeable or, even worse, starts being noticed because of its lack of effectiveness.
Apart from God we can do nothing, and if we’re not letting Him use us, then we may quickly become useless. If we don’t cling to the source of our identity, like that cover should have done with the keyboard that shaped it, we’ll be worn out, become torn and dirt will begin to seep in everywhere.
Let’s not allow God’s name to be dishonored by our lack of faithfulness. Let’s not allow sin to seep through the gaps we leave because we haven’t completely held on to His hand, because we’ve been «pretending» we’re separated from Him just out of curiosity.
«This union with Christ, once formed, must be maintained…. Separated from the vine, the branch cannot live. No more, said Jesus, can you live apart from Me. .. . Without Me you cannot overcome one sin, or resist one temptation» (The Desire of Ages, ch. 73, p. 676).
He uses all the letters, numbers, symbols, functions and combinations available to write millions of different stories. And yours is among them: one more branch that can be attached to the vine forever.