“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the  word  which  I have  spoken  unto you.  Abide  in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,  except  it abide  in the vine;  no  more can ye, except ye abide in me.

“I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him,  the  same  bringeth forth  much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.  If a man abide  not  in me,  he is cast forth  as  a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them  into the fire,  and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,  and  it shall  be done unto you.

“Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep  my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept  my  Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might  remain  in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”—John 15:1-12.

Following the institution of the Memorial Supper, the Lord and his disciples, excepting Judas who had gone to betray him, went forth from the upper room toward the Garden of Gethsemane. It was while the disciples were troubled in heart in respect to various things the Lord had said unto them and his declarations respecting his coming death, and while the  Lord, too, had in mind the parting from his disciples and their future experiences, that he gave them the parable of the vine.

The Lord announced himself as the true vine and His Father as the true Husbandman who planted the true vine, and his followers as the true branches of that vine. The expression “true vine” suggests a false vine, and this thought is accentuated and elaborated in our Lord’s last message to his people in the symbols of Revelation. There he speaks of the gathering of the fruitage of the “vine of the earth,” and the casting of the same  into the wine-press of the wrath  of God at the end of this age. —Revelation 14:19. There was,  therefore,  a deeper  meaning  in our Lord’s words, “true vine,” than the apostles could have possibly gathered from  them.  We who are living at a time when both the true vine of the Father’s  planting  and the false  vine  of the earth (earthly) have developed, have opportunity for noticing the difference  between the two vines, and of noticing also that the vine of the earth is a counterfeit of the heavenly vine. In proportion as we see this matter clearly it will assist us not only in the understanding of the Lord’s parable, but also in our application of it in our daily lives. We will be in less danger of misunderstanding, misconstruing and being deceived by the false vine, or by the false branches and the false principles represented in connection with its development, for it is not under the divine Husbandman’s care.

The Vine  of the Earth

The vine of the earth is the nominal Christian system organized along the lines of earthly wisdom. Its  branches  are the various  sects  and  parties of Christendom.  Its fruitage  is cathedrals, temples, tabernacles, chapels, orphanages, hospitals, etc., political power, honor of men, wealth, and social standing. It is great and influential in the world and has the spirit of the world running through its branches and governing all of its affairs, and brings forth a fruitage which is not entirely bad, but which is entirely earthly, and which is relished and appreciated because it is earthly and practical rather than heavenly. The vine has grown  wonderfully,  has some three hundred branches and claims four-hundred  million  adherents,  and through  its untold wealth of property and in its adherents it may be said to practically control the wealth of the world.

Great is the vine of the earth, wonderful in the eyes  of men.  However, the  harvesting time will show that these nominal systems are not the vine of Jehovah’s right-hand planting—Isaiah 60:21, and it is, therefore, the system which the Lord  declares  he will  utterly  uproot  and destroy, and whose destruction is so graphically described in  Revelation.  In the wine-press of the wrath of God, in the great time of trouble that is nearing—which we  believe the Scriptures to teach will be fully upon the world soon—the blood of Babylon’s grapes will mean a flood of trouble and anguish to the world. By that time, however, the true vine and its branches will all have been glorified, and the results of their proper fruit-bearing will mean blessings to all the families of the earth.

Let us consider carefully the “true vine” and our relationship as branches of it, and the character of the fruit which the great Husbandman expects, that this last of our Lord’s parables may greatly profit us, strengthen us, encourage us, assist us as it was intended that it should.

The True Vine

In the true vine the branches are not sects, parties,  and  it  is only by delusions  of the Adversary that any who are his (the Lord’s) people recognize these systems of men. As the apostles were not Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, etc., neither should any of the Lord’s followers be such, and it is only because we have been blinded by the Adversary’s misteachings that any of the true children of God are in such error, and so we understand this  parable  and other teachings of the Word. The Apostles did not join  each other,  but each Apostle was  united in heart, in faith, in hope, in love, in devotion to the Lord himself. So we should not join the Apostles, nor say I am of Paul, I am of Peter, etc., but each should individually join the Lord as a member, as a branch; each must  have the sap of the vine  if it would  bear fruit.  Sectarian  sap is of no value in producing the real fruitage which the Lord  desires—it is only a hindrance.  By this we do not mean that none of the branches of the true vine are by mistake associated with the nominal church systems, the vine of the earth. We recognize that this  is so,  and  we  also recognize the Lord’s voice—”Come out of her, my people, that ye  be  not  partakers  of her sins and receive not of her plagues”—the great troubles coming upon her, mother and daughters.

As the branches do not represent denominations and sects, but the individuals  who  are united to the Lord, so the teaching of the parable is that our Lord does not prune sects and denominations but the individual Christians, whoever and wherever they may be—”the Lord knoweth them that are his.” Our  Lord’s word  on the  subject is,  “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth  [pruneth]  it, that it may bear more fruit.” Everything in the Scriptures teaches us that our salvation and our relationship to the Lord are individual, personal matters; that we  are  not saved  by congregations and sects and parties and families, but that individually and personally we must be united to the vine if we would have the sap, if we would have the life, if we would be counted members of the church, which is his body.

Many Illustrations of Our Oneness

It is remarkable how fully the Lord has covered the whole range of illustrations  in describing the oneness subsisting between himself and his consecrated  followers.  He  gives  us an illustration from the mineral kingdom, saying that we are  living stones  built together upon  him as the foundation and capstone, to be the Temple of our  God. From the animal  kingdom  our Lord drew illustrations of this oneness, likening himself to the good Shepherd and his true followers to the sheep under his care, one with him in fellowship.  From the vegetable  kingdom he drew the illustration of this lesson —I am the Vine, of which my true  disciples  are the branches. From the family relationship he drew the illustration  of the true husband  and  true wife, and their complete, thorough union of heart and  of every interest.  From  the family again he drew another illustration representing the Creator  as the  Father,  himself as the  elder Son and all of his followers as brethren. From the human body we have another illustration, Jesus himself being the Head over the church, which is his body, for as the Apostle declares, we are members in particular of the body of Christ. In proportion as our faith can grasp these declarations, in proportion as we can realize their truthfulness, in that same proportion we may have strong faith and confidence that he who has begun the good work in us is both able and willing to complete it. Whoever of a loyal, obedient heart  can  exercise faith  has thus  provided for himself strength and grace for every time of need, for every hour of trial, for every difficulty and perplexity and for all the affairs of life—the  ballast which  will  give  equilibrium  and  enable us to profit by all of life’s experiences, the bitter as well as the sweet.

Our Lord’s declaration that where two or three of his disciples are met together in his name they constitute a church or body of Christ, and he as the head is with them for their blessing in proportion as their hearts are loyal to him and seeking his guidance, leads  us to  conclude likewise that wherever two or three of his members are there we have a representation of the vine, and they may have all the blessings of branches and all the privileges of fruit bearing. Very evidently, however, the Lord did not wish us to understand that in every little company of those who have named the name of Christ there would be so thorough a purging, so thorough a burning, that only the true branches would remain. His intimation is that he deals with us individually, as well as collectively, and that if we would maintain our person relationship to him it must be by the receiving of the sap from the vine, the receiving of the  Holy Spirit, as one  of the results of the union and fellowship with him.

So surely as we receive the Holy Spirit into good and honest hearts the result will be a tendency to fruit-bearing, but the illustration our Lord gives teaches that some may become true branches in the vine and yet overlook and not possess the fruit-bearing disposition. Sometimes a healthy, strong branch develops from a good stalk and  root  but  has  no fruit­ bearing qualities. The husbandman with a trained  eye  discerns  between  buds  which  would bring forth grape clusters and the buds which would have only leaves. Those which do not have  the fruit buds are known as “suckers” —because they merely suck the juices of the vine and bring forth no fruitage such as the husbandman seeks. These are pruned or cut off, so that the strength of the vine may not be wasted in such  merely outward  splendor,  but  may  be conserved for its purpose of fruit bearing. Evidently a class of true professors resembles these suckers, who selfishly would draw to themselves as much of the righteousness of the vine as possible, and would make a fair outward show in the world  with  leaves  of professions,  but would have no thought of bringing forth the fruitage which the  Lord  requires  and  which  can only be brought forth through sacrifice.

The  Object of Pruning

Aside from the suckers there are branches which, while having fruit buds, would never bring the fruit to a good ripe development if allowed to take their own course and to develop themselves as branches merely, and hence the wise husbandman,  noting the  bud,  is pleased with it and pinches off the sprout of the vine beyond the bud, not to injure the  branch  but to make it more fruitful. So with us who have not only joined the  Lord  by faith  and  consecration and been accepted as branches but who as branches desire to  bring forth  good fruitage, which the Lord seeks in us—we need the  Husbandman’s care  so that we  may bring forth  much  fruit, so that the fruit which we bear may be more to his pleasement, large fruit, luscious fruit, good fruit, valuable fruit. The methods of the Lord’s prunings should be understood  by all the branches, otherwise they may be discouraged and droop and fail to bring forth the proper fruitage.

It would appear that the great Husbandman prunes the branches of the Christ sometimes by taking away earthly wealth or property, or sometimes  by  hindering cherished  schemes  and plans. Sometimes he prunes us by permitting persecutions and the loss of name and fame, and sometimes he prunes by permitting the loss of earthly friendships toward which the tendrils of our hearts extended too strongly, and which would  have  hindered  us from  bearing the much fruit which he desires. Sometimes  he may  permit sickness to afflict us as one of these prunings, as the prophet declared, “Before I was afflicted I went astray.” Many others of the Lord’s dear people have found some of their most valuable lessons on the bed of affliction.

Some have written us how they were too busy, too much absorbed in earthly matters and interests that seemed to press for attention, so that they had not the proper time to give to the study of the divine plan of the ages and the cultivation  of their own hearts  and the  bearing of the fruit of the Spirit, and how the Lord in much mercy had laid them  aside  for a season,  and given them the opportunities which they needed for thought and Christian development, for growth in knowledge that they might have  growth  in grace.  So far,  then,  from  the  true branches esteeming the prunings of the Husbandman to be injuries and wounds, they should conclude that according to the good promises of the Word all things are working together for good to them that love him—to the true fruit-bearing branches of the true vine. Such prunings, instead of causing discouragement, should be to us, rightly understood, sources of encouragement. We realize that the world is left to itself; that the vine of the earth  has  not special prunings of the Lord, and that when we  have these  special  prunings  it  is an  evidence that the Father himself loveth us and is caring for our best interests.

“Now Ye Are Clean”

Applying this lesson to his disciples our Lord intimated that the proper pruning work had already been done on them up to date, and  in the  Lord’s providence they had  been  purged  of an unfruitful branch, Judas. He therefore said to them, “Now ye are clean through  the word  I have spoken unto you”—you are justified and accepted because of your faith, obedience, and loyalty. What a joy the eleven must have felt when they heard these words, and what a joy we may properly feel as we realize the truth of the same  words applied to  ourselves.  Praise  the Lord for this great gift of his favor through Christ—that we have in him  not only the forgiveness of sins and the covering of his robe of righteousness, but that through him we are accepted  of the Father as branches of the true vine, clean through the acceptance of the message or word sent to us. However, this is not all, this is merely the beginning. The thing necessary to be remembered is that our ultimate blessing and acceptance of the Father will depend upon our abiding continually in the blessed close relationship of branches in the vine.

If we will not bear the fruitage we may not remain in the relationship;  if we do bear the fruit, if we have that spirit and disposition, and  desire the  Lord’s grace and  strength and assistance, his grace will be sufficient for every time of need, and we will come off conquerors  and  more than conquerors through him who  loved  us and  bought us with his precious blood.  The bearing of the fruit which the Father desires cannot be accomplished, we cannot be pleasing to him, except as we are related to Christ and his fruit is born in us by our relationship to him and the power of his Spirit and his Word working in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. The assurance is that if we abide in him we will bear much fruit and that without him we can do nothing, have no fruit that the Father will accept.

What is the nature of this fruit-bearing? How may we know the fruitage which the Father seeks? We answer that many, under the misguidance and wrong example  of the vine of the earth, incline to think of grand earthly temples, orphanages, etc., as being the fruits which the Lord desires to see well developed. We answer, No. If these were the fruits then Jesus and the apostles bore no fruits; for they built no churches or cathedrals  or temples, they  neither  built nor founded orphanages or asylums or hospitals. If these were the fruitage which the  Father seeks then the Lord and the Apostles erred totally. We hold that they did not err, that the error rather has come from another quarter; that the vine of the  earth  guided  by the spirit of the world has taken a utilitarian direction, and is bringing forth the fruitage of the kind which the world approves.

The World Makes Provision

We are not saying a word against hospitals, asylums, etc.—we believe them to be very good, very desirable, very proper adjuncts of society and civilization —but we believe that the world is thoroughly capable of providing for all of those things, and that the world is quite ready to provide for them; indeed we  find that the  world  really does  make  provision  as  it is.  For instance, the various St. Francis, St. James,  and  St.  Agnes  hospitals,  asylums,  etc.,  Protestant and Catholic, all seek support from the donations of the State for their maintenance and all get them, and the State might just as well, and better in some respects, have full charge of these. Indeed we are not sure that it does not have full charge  of them  now as fully as  possible.  Not that we wish to intimate that there are none of the true branches  of the true vine  connected with any of these earthly institutions; but we hold that these are not their fruitage according to the Lord’s parable, and that if they are members of the body as well  as  members  of Babylon, they must bear the fruit of the vine of the Father’s planting as well as be identified with other good fruits.

The fruits of the Spirit are sometimes taken to be activities in the service of the truth, as for instance, the scattering of the truth, the talking of the truth, the bringing of some  out  of darkness into the light and knowledge of the truth, the expenditure of money for the publishing  of the truth—all these are sometimes considered the fruits which the Lord expects of the branches. Not so! The fruits are something still nobler and grander than these things, and are described by the Apostles as the fruits of the Spirit. The spirit of the vine must permeate all the branches, and the fruit of the vine must be in every branch. These fruits of the Spirit are enumerated:-meekness, gentleness, patience, long suffering, brotherly kindness, love; if these things  be in us and abound,  says the Apostle, they make  us to  be neither barren  nor  unfruitful  in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

These fruits are all one in some particulars; that is to say, the essence of proper Christian patience is love; the essence of hope and faith  and joy  is  love  for  our  Father,  and  our confidence in his love, as expressed in his promises to us. So the name of all these graces of the Spirit is expressed in the one word, love. These are the fruits which must  be found  in every branch if it would retain its place as a branch and be of the glorified vine by and by. Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that other things will do, and that we may pass the divine inspection without these. The other things, the good works, the seeking of the truth, the distribution of the literature, etc. are only to be acceptable to the  Father  in proportion  as they are the results of this fruitage  in our hearts.  The Apostle expresses this forcefully when  he says, If I should give my body to be burned and all my goods to feed the poor, and have not love,  it would profit me nothing.

The same thought is true in regard to service to the Lord; if we should spend every day and every hour in harvest work, if we should give all our money in printing tracts and books, or use ourselves in any other way for the service of the Lord’s cause, it would profit nothing unless it were the  result of love in our hearts.  We see, then, that the thought  is that we  must cultivate  in our hearts the graces of the Holy Spirit, meekness, gentleness, patience, etc.,  love,  and that we must have these in abounding measure to be pleasing to the  Lord,  to  bear  “much  fruit.” The expression of these fruits, therefore, undoubtedly will be through various channels, perhaps of giving goods to the poor, perhaps of such faithfulness in the  presentation  of the truth as might lead us to martyrdom, that our bodies might  be burned.  If the  burning of the body or the loss of all our goods comes in such a course through our faithfulness to the principles of righteousness, through our love and loyalty to the Lord, then happy are we indeed.

Withered Branches Burned

The declaration that those who will not bear the fruit of the vine will be cut off from being branches and will wither and ultimately be burned, seems to imply the second death, utter destruction of the class indicated. This is not the worldly class, for they were never united to Christ, never were branches in the vine and hence  never were  on trial  in this respect.  It refers only to those who have gone the lengths of making a full consecration to the Lord, a full  union with him, a thorough consecration and begetting of the Holy Spirit. These words, then, seem to correspond with the Apostle’s declaration, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

The world is not in the hands of the living God, but is at the present time reckoned as dead in Adam, under the Adamic sentence, not being judged  by the Lord.  The  Church  only is reckoned as free from Adamic condemnation and placed on trial or judgment and these only, therefore, could fall out of the hands of Christ, and into the  hands  of the  Father  in the  sense  here indicated. Being cut off from Christ their case is hopeless; for such  we can  look forward to nothing better than the second  death.  Even  then  we  are glad  that  the theory of eternal torment is not true; that when they die the death of utter extinction they have suffered all that God has pronounced, terrible as that loss will be to those who appreciate everlasting life.

This statement about the branches cut off, withered and burned does not seem to take cognizance at all of the household of faith class, which, though  believing in Jesus,  never comes  to the point of becoming branches or members in the Christ. Nor does it seem to take into consideration the great company. Indeed this class is mentioned in but few Scriptures and then obscurely, the Lord thus indicating, we believe that none were called to such a company. The Apostle speaks of some as being “saved so as by fire,” and a little suggestion in this same line might be taken from the Master’s words that being cut off as branches, they wither and are burned —burned as branches, destroyed as members of the company to which they originally were by covenant attached, but not necessarily destroyed  individually to all  eternity.  The Apostle speaks of this class saying that they shall be saved so as by fire,  but their works shall suffer loss. Perhaps we should consider these as being included in this manner in the Lord’s statement.

Fruits of Membership in the Vine

Our Lord proceeds to tell us what some of the fruits of this union with him will be: — First, such may ask whatsoever they will and it shall be done unto them. There is only one condition or limitation, namely, that before they are thus prepared to ask they must see to it that they give attention to the Lord’s word that they may ascertain what his will is and what they may ask according to his will. Those who abide in Christ must have no will of their own, theirs must be the will of their Head, and their Head has already declared that his will is the Father’s will. These, then, are the limitations, that we have the Father’s will  in our hearts and the Father’s promises in our hearts; then our requests will be in conformity to these and the Lord will be pleased to grant all such.

The second fruitage or result will be that the Father will  be glorified  the  more  in proportion as our fruit increases, and on these terms our discipleship shall continue, namely, that we shall habitually seek to know and to do the Father’s will and to glorify and honor  Him  by  lives obedient to His will. Anything short of this would forfeit our discipleship. Not that it would be forfeited instantly, as though the Lord would take occasion to cast us off lightly; but that  it is a part of our covenant relationship that we will grow in grace, grow in knowledge, grow  in harmony with God, grow in the fruits of the Spirit, and if we turn from this engagement or contract we cannot be considered as retaining our relationship as disciples, members.

The third fruit or evidence of this membership in the vine and of our continued growth as branches is stated in verse nine, namely, that as the  Father  loved  the  Lord  Jesus,  the vine,  so our Redeemer loves us, his branches or members. What a wonderful thought this is, that our Master has toward us the same kind of love that the Father has toward  him!  Could  our faith always grasp this thought and maintain this hold, we should indeed have nothing to wish or to fear—our summer would last all the year. The next thought suggested is that having reached, having attained this high position in the Lord’s favor, if we are his disciples and truly appreciate what he has done for us in this respect, we  will  desire to  continue  in  his  love. Next  in order come the terms and conditions upon which we may continue in that love, namely, that we keep  his commandments.

By way of showing us that this is not an unreasonable proposition, our Lord  declared  that these are the same terms on which the Father deals with him, namely, “Even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his  love.”  We  cannot expect to abide in the  Lord’s  love and be careless of his injunctions. The measure  of our faithfulness to  him will be  indicated  by our obedience to him, as the measure of his  love for the  Father was  indicated  by his obedience to the Father. The Apostle intimates this same thought and adds a little to it,  saying,  “For this is the love of God that we keep  his commandments,  and  his commandments are not grievous.” — 1 John 5:3. It is not enough that we keep the commandments,  but that we  keep them  lovingly and loyally, of good pleasure, that we  do  not  consider them  grievous  but  rather are to  be glad to be in line, in harmony, with all the Lord’s righteous provisions and  arrangements.  Let  us all more and more seek this spirit of full heart-harmony with all the principles of righteousness laid down by our Lord Jesus—his commandments.

Our Lord’s commandments are not the Ten Commandments of Moses, but more or less according to the standpoint of expression. They are less in the sense of requirements on  our flesh; they are more as respects the requirements on our hearts. Briefly summed up he tells us that his law is love with all our heart,  mind,  soul,  and  strength  to the  Father  and for our neighbor as for ourselves. This is possible to our regenerated hearts though not possible to our imperfect flesh. The Lord’s requirement, therefore, is that with our hearts we serve this law of God and with our flesh we shall do to the best of our ability, and we  have the assurance that  in the resurrection we shall have the new bodies in which we shall be able to serve the Lord thoroughly, completely, satisfactorily.

My Joy Remain, Your Joy Be  Full

Our Lord concluded this little lesson, so short and yet so full of meaning and depth, by an illustration of why he gave it, saying, “These things  have  I spoken  unto you that  my joy may  be in you and that your joy may be filled full.” “This is my commandment that ye love one another even as I have loved you.” Wonderful words of life  are these that  have  come  down to  us through the centuries, that have helped to  cheer and encourage  so  many of the  Lord’s followers in the narrow way.

Many are the objections that are  raised to  pure  and  undefiled  religion.  Some  complain that it is gloomy, joyless, a fetter upon the heart and brain; that it drives men from every temple of pleasure with a whip of small cords; that it posts notice, “No trespassing here,” in every field of enjoyment. Our answer must be that this is a mistake; that these are the words of those who know not, neither do they understand the things whereof they speak. Those  who  have truly made a covenant with the Lord, who have truly accepted him, who have truly laid  down  their lives at his feet and become his followers in sincerity, are filled with  his joy, as  he promised;  and  it is an increasing joy, which day by day and year by year becomes more nearly complete—a joy which will not be complete, however, until  that which  is perfect  is come  and  that which  is  in part shall be done away, until in the resurrected  condition  we  shall  see  as we  are  seen  and know as we are known and appreciate to the full the joys of our Lord, hearing his welcome invitation, “Enter thou into the joys of thy Lord.”

We enter now into those joys through faith, through anticipation, through rest of heart, but  by and by we shall enter upon them in the actual sense. Meantime it is the world that has not submitted itself to the Lord, that has no appreciation of the joys of the Lord, that is full of selfishness and ambition and strife and envy; it knoweth us not even as  it knew  him  not;  it knows not our joys in the Master’s service even as it never appreciated the joys of our Lord in doing the Father’s will, even at the sacrifice of his life.

“As I Have Loved You”

It does not astonish us that the Lord directs that we love one another, but we stand amazed with the thought contained in these words, “As  I have  loved  you.”  How can  we  love  one another with the same love which the Lord has for each of us? is our first inquiry. We reply that this is impossible at first, but as we become more and more filled with the spirit of the Lord, we approximate more nearly to this standard of perfect love to all that are his, a love that not only would refuse to do injury to another, but also a love  which  would  delight to  do good  to a brother, yea,  to do good  at the expense  of one’s own  time and convenience.  Thus Jesus  loved us all and redeemed us with his precious blood, and to whatever extent we grow in grace, knowledge, and love of him, in that same proportion we  are  Christ-like and  have  a Christ-like love. This love is the fulfilling of the law, and whoever has such a love for the brethren will have undoubtedly a full, sympathetic love for the whole groaning creation, and  will  be  glad  to  do now the little that is possible to be done on their behalf, and doubly glad that the Lord in his own good time and pleasure has a great and wonderful blessing for every member of Adam’s race.

Someone has said, “Do not imagine that you  have  gotten  these things because you  know how to get them.” There is a good and an important thought here: it is very important that we should know these things and understand the Lord’s plan  and  appreciate the  principles  laid down in his Word, but though we had all knowledge  it would  not  benefit  us  unless we  used  it. Let us not think of getting the benefit of the Lord’s gracious  provisions  by merely learning  how to get them, but let us take the necessary steps—see that we are fully his, see that we live close  to him, see that we are fruit bearers, see that we abide in his  love,  in the  Father’s  love,  in the love for one  another,  which  he has enjoined.

R 3544 (1905)