The great Rich Mullins has a song called, "My One Thing," and it helps illustrate John 15:1-8.
Rich sings, "Everybody I know says they need just one thing. What they really mean is that they need just one thing more." So people chase after extra stuff like possessions, power and prestige when instead they could have a relationship with Jesus, who says, "Apart from me you can do nothing."
The reason we want all that extra stuff is due to role confusion. Jesus says he is the true vine and we are the branches. But we think we're the vine. Heck, I know a few folks who think they're the whole vineyard. These are the folks who prune Jesus out of their lives, or who try and stuff him into a box labeled "For Use Only On Sundays."
That strategy can make you look big and strong for awhile. But it can't last. You can't bear good fruit that way. It's impossible. You're not in charge. You're not the one holding the pruning shears. How many people have you known who said they didn't need God and ended up withered and thrown into the fire?
"I don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing," sings Rich. Jesus says, "Already you are clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me."
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