CHRIST the TRUE VINE: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:1). Christian service can be either overwork or overflow. Are we under Law or Grace? Is our Master an Egyptian slave-trader or is He the King of Love? Do we serve Him because we must or because we may? Does He send us to war at our own charge, or did He not say, “Wait…until you are endued with power from on high”? Christian service is meant to be a continual inflow and overflow of our heavenly Master’s life in and through us. When that is our secret, there is a freshness and ease about our serving which in itself is a contagious happiness from heaven. It is then that we know how true are the words, “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10). We are continually replenished from hidden springs which are a mystery to the uninitiated, but are a superb reality to those who dwell deep in Christ. —J. Sidlow Baxter