Welcome to the vine
Those who know me well are aware that horticulture is not my strong point. The number of flowers I would recognise could be counted on one hand. If my wife takes me to Scotsdales garden centre the only place I head for is the cafe. Fortunately my wife is a talented gardener who every year manages to create a glorious splash of colour. How she does it is a mystery to me, but I do know that she only produces this colour through patient planting , watering and tendering. That includes removing weeds and bugs that threaten to destroy the plants. I also know that she attends to each plant and flower individually with great attention and care.
Using the image of a vineyard Jesus calls God “the gardener” and himself “the true vine”. Everyone who follows Jesus is described as a branch of the vine and God tends to each branch separately. He waters it and feeds it with his love. He also cuts off branches which are dead. In other words he lovingly removes things from our lives that are harmful or stunting our growth.
In an age where many of us feel anonymous and of no account God offers us a place in the vine. He promises to tend each one of us individually according to our needs. He knows us intimately and wants to transform us into a beautiful plant. That means some pruning needs to be done from time to time as wrong attitudes and desires are challenged. Yet even this is done out of love and to make us lovely. Being part of Jesus as “the true vine” we can come to know God intimately and grow into the person that he wants us to become and that can only be a good thing
But how do we get to be a branch in the vine? Simple. We ask Jesus to take us in.