This was not true happiness,
and the vine of the Palestine vineyards was not the true vine.
"CHRIST was the TRUE Vine." Here, then, is the ultimate source
of Joy. Through whatever media it reaches us, all true Joy and
Gladness find their source in Christ.
By this, of course, is not meant that the actual Joy experienced
is transferred from Christ's nature, or is something passed on from
Him to us. What is passed on is His method of getting it. There
is, indeed, a sense in which we can share another's joy or another's
sorrow. But that is another matter. Christ is the source of Joy
to men in the sense in which He is the source of Rest. His people
share His life, and therefore share its consequences, and one of
these is Joy. His method of living is one that in the nature of
things produces Joy. When He spoke of His Joy remaining with us
He meant in part that the causes which produced it should continue
to act. His followers, (that is to say), by REPEATING His life
would experience its accompaniments. His Joy, His kind of Joy,
would remain with them.
The medium through which this Joy comes is next explained: "He that
abideth in Me, the same bringeth forth much fruit." Fruit first,
Joy next; the one the cause or medium of the other. Fruit-bearing
is the necessary antecedent; Joy both the necessary consequent and
the necessary accompaniment.
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