Reading a book on growing grapes [P.M. Wagner, A Wine Growers Guide, 1996] gave me insight into Jesus’ words about vine, branches, and fruit. Wild female vines cannot bear fruit unaided; they have a defective stamen. Living outside God’s will does not produce good work or fruit. Cross-pollination does not change the character of fruit. Planting a good vine in bad ground will not produce good fruit, nor will planting a bad vine in good soil yield a harvest of good grapes; it depends on the character of the vine and the foundation in which it is planted. Bearing fruit in
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