Most people know the parable of the "true vine" in John chapter fifteen. Jesus compares Himself to a vine and God the Father to the husbandman.John 15:1-2 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."
Well, I was reading and thinking about it. I discovered that so often when we hear teaching on this passage the focus is on how we need to bear fruit. In one sense I can understand where people are coming from, but what about the other side of it?!
God is our husbandman. That got me thinking... What exactly was the point of a husbandman and what did he do? Basically, today we would say farmer or farm worker. He was a man who cared for the vineyard. He was in charge of everything from preparation of the land to purging the branches.
God is our husbandman. That got me thinking... What exactly was the point of a husbandman and what did he do? Basically, today we would say farmer or farm worker. He was a man who cared for the vineyard. He was in charge of everything from preparation of the land to purging the branches.
Isaiah 5:1-2 "Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes."
When the vines were not doing as they should, the husbandman was distressed. He poured himself into the vineyard. In many cases the husbandman actually moved into the midst of the yard. That is exactly like the way God thinks of us.
We are His. We do not belong to anyone else, yet so often we throw ourselves into temporal things designed to connect us with the people around us but not with God. Even telling ourselves that the connection is good. I am NOT saying we should avoid socialization. However, we need to remember that we are part of Christ once we are saved and nothing is going to change that. No friend gets to come before Him in our lives.
Jeremiah 12:10 "Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness."God has patience with us. The vine isn't expected to bear fruit as soon as it is placed in the ground. In fact, the husbandman would purge branches so that they didn't bear fruit until the third year. We have to remember to have the patience of God with our brothers and sisters in Christ as well.
James 5:7 "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."
I learned much about our connection to God while working on this article. I hope you did too.
Cassandra is in love with the Lord in a way different than it ever before. She was always brought up to know the Bible. Recently she has come to live out the Bible in a freedom that she never thought was possible. God is showing her things in such a real and close way. She loves knowing without any doubt that He cares about the tiny details of our lives. She blogs at Content of Praise.
Have you ever seen a tree without bark on it? I have. I live in a town full of trees. There are many varieties around my house. Let me tell you, the few I have seen that have their bark removed, for whatever reason, are not what you would call beautiful. They are usually so discolored and scarred that you can't tell what kind of tree it is. If a lot of the bark is missing you might even think that it is just a very overgrown weed.
Trees also use their bark for a protection . The cover is needed to keep the inner parts safe from harm, bugs, mold, and anything else that would love to tear it apart. Just like Satan, our flesh, and other people would try to tear us apart. He wants to keep us safe from all harm, but He can't do that if we refuse the covering He has picked for us.