"I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God."
Ezekiel 11:19b-20
The people are rebellious like wild grapes invading a forest. They refuse to see, and they refuse to hear. They've built up flimsy walls of delusion to reinforce their position. As the winds of the siege storms up against their walls of rebellion, they whitewash the walls with messages about living your best life now. Their men and women prophecy from their imaginations and magic charms. Even though they continue in their sins, they encourage the people promising them life. They have embraced things that will make them fall into sin. They are like the wild grape vines choking off the trees of the forest.
They are like wild grape vines.
Like grapevines growing among the trees of the forest. Grapevines climb into the young hardwood trees, reducing growth of these young vulnerable trees, breaking out branches, and deforming the trees. Wild grape needs full sunlight to continue to grow, so it will tend to climb toward light and overcome the young trees, covering the tree canopy with its own leaves and stealing the trees light. You won't even notice because their leaves look similar and everything looks to be normal as this wild root is choking out the light. The wild grape grows quickly, using a different cellular structure, like the cells of a leaf or flower, that do not last and cannot stand on its own. And so it must borrow the strength of its neighbors in order to grow up. It must be propped up artificially in order to survive. The young trees grow slower but stronger so that they'll last and their strong wood will withstand the seasons. But the wild grape doesn't. It instead produces quick solutions for the here and now, not concerned about the future except to quickly produce seed that'll spread its kind far and wide, spread by the birds and wild animals.
Can its wood be used for making things? No. Can its wood be used for the fire? Yes, but even as a fuel, it burns too quickly. The animals and birds love the food the wild grape produces and the shelter it creates.
So is it all bad? No. Nothing is ever all bad. Everyone makes mistakes. This is why Christ has taught us that whatever we want others to do for us, do for them, for this is the law and the prophets.
What then? Shall we ignore the wild grapes? Let them spread throughout the forest, breaking down the canopies? Maybe?
Should we just ignore when bad things are happening? Like the stoics? Should we just live and let live? Is that Christ's way? No. We're called to live out Christ's love by doing. Not by ignoring. But by doing good to those who would do you harm. By adopting this approach, by developing eyes that see and ears that hear and doing good for those who hate you, you are helping to discover the truth.
Just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? No. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. (Read Matthew 7:15-20)
To restore the forest canopy, and cultivate a clean new heart, you need to get a handle on the wild grape vines that are growing among the trees. They are disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. As the Lord has instructed, "every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire." (vs 19)
The heart needs to be renewed. The heart's cells need to be renewed. Its growth needs to be maintained. And the body needs to be protected from the rebellious wild overgrowth.