Thrive On God’s Vine

It’s the tail end of spring and there’s an abundance of green everywhere. Lawns are lush, plants are blooming, gardens are producing. Yes, I know it’s officially summer. Here in the heartland, we’re in the middle of a heat wave that shows no end. According to the news, it’s not just us. Dangerously high, record temperatures are happening across the country.

Yes, I know it’s that time of year. Apparently, what I don’t know is why it always surprises me and I go on incessantly about the heat and how miserable it is.

As I was giving my outdoor plants a drenching this morning, I thought about how it will be in a couple of months. The green will pretty much be long gone. Even the plants I’ve laboriously poured water over daily will be struggling to stay alive.

Are you feeling the heat and struggling for life?

This morning I read John 15 and remembered: We are the branches. There will be days when it feels every last ounce of life has burned out of us. We may have moments when it feels like a total waste of time, whatever we’re attempting. There’s that voice that says, “Let go. Disconnect. Give up.”

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him {*or her} bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital communion with Me] you can do nothing.” (John 15.5)

Don’t let go. Don’t disconnect. Don’t give up.

God is The Vine. If you disconnect from Him, well…there is really no good way for me to put this.

Take a minute and visualize how the grass, plants, and gardens look at summers’ end? Blooms have shriveled up and blown away. The leaves are brown and crunchy to the touch. The green is gone.

Being the pretend-gardener that I am, this is about the time when I give up and stop pouring on the water. It seems a waste of time. Why should I continue using good and costly water when this stuff looks and feels dead?

Late last summer, I had all but given up on my plants for that very reason. We were about to go out-of-town for the week. “I could have a friend come by and water everything while I’m gone?” I thought. Somehow, I knew once my friend saw what remained, she’d laugh and say to herself, “This stuff is so not worth it.”

But you’re worth it. We are worth it.

If we stay connected to The Vine – dwelling in Him and He in us – we live. It’s that simple. When you feel withered and dry, stay connected to Him. When you’re desperate for a cool drink of water but wonder if it’s worth the effort or cost, do not give in or let go.

Attached to The Vine, You live. You thrive. You survive.

The Vine is your lifeline. He’s your nourishment; your Living Water. He is the season that never fades, crumbles or blows away. Stay in The Vine and live. It’s that simple.

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