Last week I harvested my first good crop of grapes since I planted my vines three years ago, and I am now making a little bit of homemade wine to the best of my ability. It's a fun and interesting process to watch. I hope I don't mess it up.
Anyhow, of course this gardening with grape vines got me to thinking about our Lord Jesus. So many gardening activities do that for me. But this one in particular has very deep and profound meaning that wasn't lost on me.
I went out in the garden. I selected all my carefully and lovingly crafted fruits, and while doing so I also pruned off the wild branches in anticipation of next seasons new growth. Everything I pruned off was tossed aside. And later this fall those branches and the weeds and other debris will burn on my brush fire. And I'll use that ash to feed my garden. Come spring I'll cultivate the soil around the vines roots. Feeding and watering I'll pour out my blood sweat and tears on them (literally). I'll fight off the Japanese beetles and make sure nothing prevents my branches from producing as much as they possibly can. This is what I do, this is my role. I am the gardener in my vineyard. And that got me to thinking...
Jesus is the One who conquers giants, he's the One who calms the seas. Jesus is the One who prunes the vineyard and His Spirit gives it life. He protects the branches from outside attack, and he protects the vines from themselves, by pruning them. He shows great patience and love (grace and mercy). And he knows his vineyard inside and out.
What does all this mean to me?
Abiding in Christ is all about the place God holds in your life. In the gospel of John, Jesus uses a metaphor to describe our absolute dependence upon him, "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)
Jesus didn't use grape vines to fashion a whip in order to teach his disciples about obedience, he uses instead this imagery of a vineyard to illustrate their calling and mission. The vine is Jesus, while we (believers and disciples) are the branches. Jesus is the gardener who tends the vine branches. He prunes the fruitful branches so they will bear even more fruit and takes away the unfruitful branches, throwing them into the fire.
What makes you laugh?
What makes you cry?
What makes you angry?
Like it or not, we're emotionally invested in our relationships, and likewise emotionally invested in the God we want more than the God we have. I asked these three questions above, because the answers to those questions will explain what governs our actions. And knowing those aspects of ourselves is helpful in understanding our relationship choices. Our answers will explain what governs our ability to make a connection with God. Our answers will explain our level of dependence on God. And our answers to those questions above will reveal what qualifies our continuance (abiding) in God's commission.
Looking back at Jesus' metaphor about the vine and branches, can you imagine a branch that believes in the vine but doesn't spring from that vine? Don't you think that Jesus, the Creator of all things, can see right through all that's truly going on in your heart? Take a look with me at this little (almost unnoticed) commentary about Jesus' point of view regarding believers (spiritual seekers):
The set up is this- following the "cleansing of the temple" by Jesus and his whip, Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast. And MANY spiritual people were identifying themselves with him. Mainly because of all he was doing, especially his miracles.
Now take a look at his perspective.
John 2:24-25 (The Amplified Bible)
24 But Jesus, for His part, did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people [and understood the superficiality and fickleness of human nature], 25 and He did not need anyone to testify concerning man [and human nature], for He Himself knew what was in man [in their hearts—in the very core of their being].
Now go back and ask yourself those three questions again, but now answer as if you're explaining yourself to Jesus. What makes you laugh, what makes you cry, what makes you angry?
This isn't a "What Would Jesus Do?" moment. This is a what would you do moment. You're not answering what you think Jesus wants to hear. You're answering what truly matters to you TODAY. Remember, "he knew all people". Remember, "he himself knew what was in man". And he knows whether or not you're truly in him. He knows the branches grafted into his vine. Because that's how they got there you know? No one sprung from the vine by its own right, or by heritage. All are adopted, grafted in by the power of the Holy Spirit. They were given a new birth as a new branch attached to the everlasting vine. They were once attached to a different vine that made them laugh, cry, and made them angry. And now they are adopted into the rest of their life in Him. He makes them laugh. He makes them cry. He makes them angry. He's responsible for governing their emotional attachments. He prunes them to produce the fruit HE DEMANDS. He throws out the parts that no longer produce fruit. He does that. It's his vine.
He's THE vine dresser. And you don't get to grow into that vineyard later on when your story is finished, you get there by joining him now, you get HIS mark, he seals the graft with his Holy Spirit for the day of redemption. And the law is then sealed in your heart. The seal bears His name, His Majesty, and His Glory. This vine is like no other. No other vine bears his seal, no other carries his authority. It is his alone. It's his vibe (not misspelled) his vine resonates in his ways. And if any branches get to behaving in ways he has not commissioned, they get the ax. It's really simple, and really pure. It's pure and simple.
No matter what you think about Christ and his authority...No matter how you feel about God's people...No matter what emotion comes when you think about God's commandments...please set those things aside and reconcile with him. Don't end up on the edge of heaven and eternity with the fires burning your backside as you struggle to climb in by your own means.
Please hear Jesus when he says,
“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law” (Matthew 5:18).
The law is the work of the vinedresser. It's his vineyard, it's his law, it's his work. He is pure and simple. And there is still plenty of room for your bud to be grafted in. No matter what you did or didn't do, do this now because mercy and grace is renewed with each new day.
God Bless You And Keep You