Good Works? Breath In and Breathe Out

John 15:9-17

The Greek philosophers spoke of vine-dressing as a way of describing training in philosophy. Popular philosophy in the first century was preoccupied with living a virtuous life. Good philosophy was supposed to remove vice from your soul in the same way that a vinedresser would remove useless growth. Teachers must exhort people toward virtue in the same way that one might tend to a young plant. Only such virtue would lead to joy. For us Christians, our faith is no mere philosophical system. This is the Truth and it will lead us not only to virtue but also to true joy.