At each step along the way, whether rocky and disjointed, or smooth and sure, invitation awaits, promise exists, and fulfillment is upon the horizon.

“We are constantly invited to be who we are.” – Henry David Thoreau

Who we are, and who we aspire to be, can lead us in many different directions. Sometimes it can be hard to know which way to go. It can be tempting to go only where the path is more predictable and “certain”, to be drawn into misplacing priorities, to hold onto that which may be intended to be temporary, or to let go and walk away too easily.

Despite all that occurs in the world, or in our lives, and that can cause parts of us to become rigid, who we are calls us to be flexible. While there is much in society that attempts to pull our hearts toward being secure in or through ourselves and others, rather than in and through God, who we are calls us to be fluid… open to guidance and direction, nurturing and pruning, by God—the vine grower (John 15:1).

Jesus said, “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5).

Jesus is reminding us, who we are. Telling us who our lifeline is, and that if we’re going to hold onto, grasp, or cling, let it be to God. Let it be to the Love that sustains and gives life.

Each of us is created in the image of, and out of, Love. A Love that calls us to embody itself and be a presence of love in the world. At the same time, we are also called to allow ourselves to be loved by others. For Love is the source of all fruit that is born.

Love is the driving force of life. Not just a passing affection or surface desire, but a deep, never ending Love. One that connects all living things to one another, and that is neither bound by space nor time.

To love well, or to bear much fruit, requires honest work and cooperation. It is ongoing. It stretches, builds, and challenges us, and can only be truly done in communion with God and one another. It cannot be accomplished in a vacuum, or on an island, so to speak. Nor can it be only alongside those who seem more pleasant to be around or more agreeable. Attached to the Vine, amid many branches, and all through the Vine Grower, there are many ways of bearing fruit as well as many kinds of fruit to bear.

Bearing fruit… extending Love in its many splendid forms to all is the essence in which we are created. It is who we are, who we are called to be, and what we are called to honor. It is to be at all times, and in all places, and most importantly, it is always through the grace of God.