I Am the True Vine.

I Am the True Vine

Jesus said: I am the Vine, you are the branches, live in me and I in you, then you will bear much fruit.

John 15: 5

Imagine a vine growing. It has roots that go down very deep before anything ever appears above the ground. Because of those deep roots the vine seldom needs watering; they seek out nourishment from deep in the soil. Once firmly rooted it reaches up through the ground, frequently very stone-filled ground, yet it manages to find its way to the surface and reaches up towards the sun, the light.

It needs to find support as it grows upward so it sends out tendrils that grip and hold anything it comes into contact with. In this way, the plant can stay upright and spread its branches and leaves, to take strength from the sun.

The wine keeper puts stakes in the field, there are wires running along which the vine is trained and supported. These are important, but long before humans cultivated vines they managed on their own, finding natural holds and sources of nurture.

Once the vine has grown strong, and only then, when it is firmly grafted to the roots and held to the holds it has from its tendrils does it begin to produce the fruit.

We as children similarly hold and grasp to adults to enable us to grow strong and learn to support ourselves.  Many of us put our trust in God or Chi, yet how often we let go and drift seeking other things to bring us support and help. Rather than faith in things spiritual we might put our trust in wealth or other people.

It is wise from time to time to take stock and to assess what ( or where or how) it is we put our trust? Have we drifted from the spiritual to the material? Or have we decided that we do not need any such support, we can manage to stand on our own two feet.?

The very structures of religion that were put there to enable us to find support can become the very things that detract from what is important in our trust and faith.

The buildings can become more important and drain much of the energy from those who gather within them.

The music and the singing can become more important than the words and the message of the songs.

The members of the congregations or assemblies can become more important than the faith or God that is meant to be at its centre.

Those who call themselves part can spend more time propping up the props than ever devoting oneself to the message or the being.

Remember the branches of the vine only require to be damaged or partly broken for the first signs of fatigue. The fruits it bears become smaller and less flavoursome and the vine becomes less value and worth. Eventually, there is no fruit at all.

Once the branch is cut through and is no longer attached to the vine the end is very fast. "It is as well pruned and cast into the fire," says Jesus.

How well secured is your faith, your trust, the meaning of your life? Is it strong and secure or bruised and broken?