"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
Scripture is awesome. There are no wasted or unnecessary words. Every single word has a purpose. Therefore, I was struck by the phrase "true vine." Why didn't John simply write "I am the vine, and . . . "
Well kept, well maintained vineyards are a thing of beauty. I love to drive along Rt. 5 in Erie Co., Pa. and look at miles and miles of beautiful vineyards. Pruned and shaped and tended, when the fruit comes into season it is rich and full and succulent. The smell in the air is exquisite, mouthwatering, tantalizing. It begs to be eaten.
On the other hand, if you would hike the mountains or walk the wooded trails in Pennsylvania, there is another grapevine, the wild grapes. As you walk through the woods you will see long, thick, grape-viney tendrils hanging out of trees, like old rope, the bark peeling. If there is any fruit at all on these vines, it is small and withered and usually never reaches maturity. And if you would happen to find a ripe cluster, they are very, very bitter. These vines are of no worth at all.
The teaching in John 15 is very familiar to us. Jesus likens us to the grape. Depending on which vine we are growing on will determine the type of fruit we produce. yada yada yada. I know, it's been told over and over. Are we jam, full of fruit and substance, or are we jelly, syrupy-sweet but with no body? Did you know that if something is repeated in Scripture, it is profoundly important? And if it's repeated three times, you better right now pay attention.
The grapevine teaching is repeated twice in John 15 and once in Rev. 14. There's the kicker.
Jesus called Himself the "true vine" because there is a counterfeit vine. In Rev. 14: 18 we read: ". . . take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the EARTH'S VINE, . . . " Rev. 14:14-20 reiterates Jesus' teaching in John 15 on the destruction of fruit that never matured, the fruit of the vine of the earth. This will be a very horrible harvest.
In light of all this, who, then, are you permitting to "tend your vineyard?" The true Gardener who lovingly, gently, masterfully shapes you to bring about your very own robust maturity, or are you just left to your own devices, to grow willy-nilly, never producing in sweet abundance what you are truly capable of? Are we jam, or are we jelly. The choice is ours. But then, so are the results.
When the harvest of the earth begins, in which winepress will you be found?
Father God, I am in your hands. Twist me and turn me and shape me into your likeness and beauty. My growth and maturity I give over to Your Holy Spirit, to train me up in the way I should go. I pray, Almighty God, that my fruit will be a sweet, sweet offering to you. In you I trust. Amen.
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