Be Still And Know

John 15:5 NLT    '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 do nothing.'    Standing along a stretch of dual carriageway near to us are a series of apple trees. Every year we see the blossom, the fruit and finally the harvest: the trees shedding their fruit on the ground. No one gathers it. Initially, I thought this was a waste. But as I reflected upon the fallen fruit, I recognised these trees were unable to stop doing what they were created for: to be fruitful. Nor can we. Even if we feel disconnected through circumstances, cut off from our family, or are no longer participating in a life-affirming Christian community, we cannot stop being fruitful if we remain in Jesus.    What is the purpose of fruitfulness, however, if we are alone? Perhaps simply that God will never stop pouring out love into and through us. As I considered those trees, I realised the soil that nurtured them was itself enriched by their fallen frui