Open your Bible and read John 15:1-11
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5 · ESVIf you have ever tried to become a better person by sheer force, you already know how that ends. The willpower runs out around week three and you are back where you started, only more tired and more ashamed.
This image says the change was never supposed to work that way. A branch does not strain to produce grapes. It stays attached, and fruit happens as a byproduct of the connection.
That word abide just means stay. Remain. Do not leave.
Here is why this matters even for someone still undecided. Most people picture Christianity as a heavier set of rules than the ones they are already failing. This describes almost the opposite, a life that grows out of being joined to someone rather than out of gritting your teeth harder than last year.
Do this today
Name one thing you have been trying to change by willpower alone, and how that is going.
An honest thing to say to God
“I have tried to change myself and it has not worked. I am open to another way.”