The Vine

I love to look out my kitchen window.
There is a crepe myrtle tree blooming with lush pink blooms.
There are two lilac trees that emit a sweet fragrance all through the spring.
There is a butterfly bush where every day there are butterflies of all types and colors.

Under the crepe myrtle is phlox…a beautiful ground cover.
It is a sea of purple in the spring…lush green now.
I was outside and saw little specks of red throughout the phlox.
When I got down closer…the red specks were strawberries.

There is a wild strawberry vine growing throughout the phlox.
I pulled gently and removed some of it.
Even though it is pretty, it can still overtake the ground cover planted there.

I followed one of the vines with my eyes and saw that it actually wrapped around the trunk of the crepe myrtle tree.
I removed it right away.
It is pretty…but insidious.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Step outside and look at your own trees.
Many of the trees have vines climbing up the side.
The intricate path of the vine is truly amazing as it circles and climbs…always up.
It is not easy to throw off everything that so easily entangles.
It is entwined so meticulously.

When Jesus taught His disciples, He taught as many of the rabbis did in the first century.
It was a type of teaching known as peripatetic teaching…walking alongside.
We teach with the teacher standing in front of the students.
But Jesus taught with His back to them…as He walked in front of them…teaching and explaining as He went along.

The Temple in Jerusalem had a golden vine trailing over its porch.
The vine was the symbol of Israel.
It was against this backdrop that Jesus called Himself the True Vine.

I am the Vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in Him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

In the fall and spring, sticks and branches need to be picked up in the yard.
Did you ever notice a vine that is still wrapped around a fallen branch?
There is no life…it is dead.

The branch has been separated from its life source.
It has no nutrients or means of survival.

If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. (John 15:6)

Jesus is our True Vine.
We need to be attached to Him in order to thrive and grow.
We need to feed on Him…the Bread of Life.
We need to quench our thirst with Him…the Living Water.

A lush vine produces fruit.
If that vine was cut from its life source, it dies.
There is no fruit.

I am the True Vine and My Father is the Gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. (John 15:1-4)

The branches of a vine were used for only one purpose…producing fruit.
The vine wood could not be used for anything since it was so twisted.

We, as branches, exist to bear fruit for God.
On our own, apart from Him, we can do nothing.
Apart from Him, we are twisted vine wood…dead…fruit-less.

Stay attached to the True Vine.
Cling tightly to Him.
Then, we will bear fruit that is lush and abundant.
We will be fulfilling our purpose.

 

 

 

 

2 responses to “The Vine”

1. When we walked in the yard, our dog used to search out and eat those little wild strawberries.

   Reply

   • Al,
     The strawberries are so tiny…but the vine can take over a garden pretty quickly.
     Isn’t is amazing how many everyday things point to Him?
     Who would ever think a wild strawberry vine would point to the True Vine?
     So glad He opens our eyes to see.
     Gina

     Reply