Abiding Fruit
A Modern Version
John 15:1
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
NIV
Not all of us know much about farming and raising crops, so I searched for a modern day example of this statement. I work in the world of computers, therefore, this is the world from which I draw my example. I shall attempt to explain it as I move along.
My version of John 15:1 might read something like this:
I am the motherboard and you are the components. My Father is the systems integrator.
Building a desktop computer is much like assembling tinker toys. The motherboard contains a bunch of electrical circuits and slots or sockets to plug other things into. Without the motherboard there is no way in which any of the various parts of a computer may talk to each other and pass data. Everything flows through the motherboard.
In one socket goes the central processing unit (CPU). These are normally processors from Intel, the Pentium chips, or from AMD. These are the "brains" of the unit in that this is where all of the applications instructions are carried out.
Pieces called cards are plugged into the slots on the motherboard. This allows video to operate, sound to be produced, printers and scanners and other devices to be connected, either inside your computer box or outside of the box via connectors on the back of the box. These connectors directly or indirectly attach to the motherboard and are the paths by which data travels across the motherboard.
Hard drives and similar devices plug into controller slots on the motherboard.
In other words, everything plugs into the motherboard. Without the motherboard your computer does not work. If a component (printer, hard drive, etc.) fails to function, it can be replaced. But if a component is removed from its connection to the motherboard, the component is useless.
We need to be careful not to carry the analogy too far. It, like most human analogies of spiritual things, starts to break down after a while. But, hopefully you get the idea and can use this picture if you are unfamiliar with the picture Christ presents to His Apostles.
