I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 ESV

When I opened my first landscaping business in 1987, I came in with more than a dozen years of experience, a professional license and plenty of specialized training. My plan was to use my expertise to guide and educate customers in the “right way” to maintain their ornamental gardens and trees. Boy did that not work out! What I spent the next thirty years learning was that my job was to serve the desires of my customers. Once I figured that out after years of butting heads, running the business became a delight and people usually loved the results.

Sadly, when some of us come to know Christ, we begin with almost the same mindset. Maybe we have been to Catechism class or spent time in Sunday School and we feel pretty sure that we know how to be good Christians. But that also; most definitely won’t work out! I remember one day a customer noticed a bumper sticker on my truck that said, “We Have a Friend in Jesus” and he asked, “Is that your partner?” I shook my head and laughed answering, “Oh no! He’s the boss!”

Yes, Jesus is the boss, and we are the branches. Doing things our way is no longer an option. But when we get in synch with His garden design, then everything our life will begin to yield beautiful fruit!