Alone with His disciples in the upper room, Jesus has told them that when He leaves He will send the Helper, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit who will live in them and will empower them to love and obey Him. Then in John 15 Jesus offers them a powerful illustration of His life in them producing the fruit of love and obedience: A vine and its branches. In our passage today, we find one of the most beloved metaphors of the life of a disciple. When the disciple (branch) abides in Christ (vine), makes Himself at home in the love of Jesus, the life of Jesus flows in and through the disciple to give a fruitful, joyful life that glorifies the Father. The Father (the vinedresser) cares for the branches, lifting them up and pruning them so that they will bear fruit. The branch cannot possibly bear fruit apart from the vine. But a branch that is filled with the life and love of Jesus bears the fruit of obedience.