Restoration and Fruitfulness

1) I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. 2) He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3) You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4) Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5) I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remans in me and I in him, he wil bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:1-5

While this parable is, absolutely, about remaining close to Jesus- abiding in him and, in so doing, being fruitful- there's another lesson here. A lesson you wouldn't pick up on unless you took a look at the original Greek and knew a little something about vineyards and their keepers. The second lesson is about your value to Christ and restoration.

John 15:2 tells us that those who do not produce fruit are "cut off", but the Greek word translated as "cut off" is airo, which, in addition to meaning remove or take away, is also "lift up". Considering the context of the parable, this is a much more accurate translation. In a vineyard, the vines are very valuable- they're what produce the grapes. When a vine falls to the ground, dirt gets on the leaves and the pores are clogged by dust, preventing the leaves from breathing and causing the leaves to be unproductive. The vinedresser carefully lifts the leaves up and gently washes the dust from them. They're then wrapped around the trellis or tied up and soon start to flourish. They're TOO VALUABLE to be cut off.

We were bought with a high price and are too valuable to be cut off and discarded, too. So, rather that cast us aside, He corrects us. Tenderly. Just as the vinedresser gently washes the bruised leaves, He gently corrects us and washes us clean as we repent. Cutting off is a last resort and, I believe, only done when one who was a believer makes a conscious choice to turn away from Jesus and reject Him as the Messiah. Our Father is patient and longsuffering. He will continue to speak to us regarding whatever the issue in our life is and, as needed, slowly turn up the heat! God is not willing that ANY should perish (2 Peter 3:9) and is willing to do whatever is needed to preserve us. That's why Jesus came and gave His life. So that we could live and not die. So that perishing was an option, not a given. And He's given us this parable to let us know that, when we fall into the mud, He's willing to lift us up and restore us to a place of fruitfulness.

From Genesis thru Revelation, God speaks continually about restoration. It was God who sacrificed the first animals to cover Adam and Eve. It was God who established the blood sacrifice to cover the sins of the children of Israel. It was God who sacrificed His own son to restore all of mankind to right relationship with Him- no longer simply covering our sins, but washing them away. Gone. Clean again. Restored.

We're all too often easily separated from the Vine. Cares of this life come, busy-ness takes up our time. There are children to raise, a house to tend to, meals to cook, clothes to wash- the list is endless. And before you know it, there's a cavern between you and your Father that would make the Grand Canyon look like a crack in the sidewalk. You've drifted away, ever so slowly, and slipped into sin. Maybe it's an innocent occasional glass of wine after the kids went to bed that turned into a drink after work with friends and, then, became partying into the wee hours of the morning that caused the distance. Maybe it's an introduction to a really nice, but unsaved, person that, though innocent enough, has pulled you away from God. Whatever it is, forgiveness is waiting to invade your life. It's hanging by a thread, waiting to fall on you like the rain that washes the dust from the leaves. Forgiveness brings restoration, which reconnects you to Jesus and brings fruitfulness. And, as far as I can tell, there's no waiting period for that fruitfulness to begin. There are no qualifying remarks- no 'you must repent and do 10 laps around the church followed by 3 days of prayer and fasting'. As far as I can tell, restoration happens as soon as forgiveness is received and you begin to blossom into fruitfulness.

So many times, when we've been restored, we waste time being remorseful for having fallen or drifted. Yes, I did say "wasted time". Your Father has forgiven you and forgotten what you did. When you continue to dwell on it, you're reliving something that, as far as God is concerned, didn't happen. And you're listening to the enemy of your soul telling you God's grace isn't sufficient- you haven't wallowed in it enough. Stop wallowing. Stop listening to your enemy. The Creator of the universe has forgiven you, so forgive yourself and move on. Move into fruitfulness.

Fruitfulness is a natural result of spending time with Jesus. Everyone who spends time with him flourishes and brings forth fruit, but make no mistake about it, fruit only comes from spending time with Him. "No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine." (John 15:4)

Remain in the vine. Abide in the vine. Abide- dwell. Dwell in Jesus. Live in him. We are the branch that has been grafted in and we must dwell in Jesus in order to live. The moment we begin to drift, we begin to die. We can't survive with one foot in each world. Move a fraction of an inch toward the world and it's empty promises and you start to wilt- just like a plant that's been deprived of water withers and dies, so we wither and die without the living water that only Jesus can give. But, just like a wilted plant that springs back when watered, when we return to Jesus, he gives us that living water that restores us. Jesus came to bring restoration. He came to restore that which was taken from us. He came to restore us.

No mater what you've done, haven't done, thought about doing- if you need restoration, Jesus is offering it. He has good seed for you to sew and a harvest for you to reap. He has fruit for you to produce. He has a great life for you. Don't rob yourself of that opportunity by choosing to wallow in unforgiveness. Almost before you can finish saying "I'm sorry, God" you're forgiven. So receive your forgiveness and, then, move forward. There's nothing in the past worth loosing the future over. Let the Vinedresser lift you up out of the mud and lovingly, tenderly wash you clean and bring you into fruitfulness.

(Teaching based on Secrets of the Vine by Darlene Marie Wilkinson)

Irrevocable

Have you ever considered that the Creator of the universe has a plan for your life? That He has dreams and hopes for you? It's true. Just as surely as we have dreams and hopes for our children, He has dreams and hopes for us- His children. Just as surely as we desire to bless our children, He desires to bless us. In the midst of our despair, God longs to give us hope. He holds it in His hand and He extends it towards us. It's ours for the taking. But, you say, I've drifted away from God. Okay. You're not the first and, probably, won't be the last. But your Father is standing, waiting for your return. He stands on a mountain top, diligently searching the horizon for you. I promise, if you take one step toward Him, He'll run toward you. Once again, the door is open for His blessings to flow in our life. And don't think His plans for you have changed because you've made some bad choices. Romans 11:29 tells us "...God's gifts and His call are irrevocable". From before the foundation of the world, God knew all about you. Right choices. Wrong choices. Everything. And then He crafted a plan for your life- a future for you- and breathed life into you. Throughout our lives we're faced with having to make choices. Making mistakes doesn't cancel God's plans for us and they don't cause us to loose the gifts He's given us. "Irrevocable." I like that. It tells me that God has grace for my humanness. It tells me that mistakes are expected and are part of my learning to hear His voice more clearly and reflect Him better. That I have a hope and a future in Him and that He'll never give up on me. I suppose that since He never gives up on me, I shouldn't give up on me, either. The same thing goes for you. He's not about to give up on you- you're His creation and you take His breath away. Spend some time with your Father and let Him tell you how much He loves you and what wonderful plans He has for you. It'll be the best time you ever spent.

Willing Heart

Not all of us are called to deliver such dramatic messages as Isaiah spoke, yet all of us have the potential to do great things for the Kingdom. All of us have within us the desire to leave a mark on the world and that desire has been placed there by our Heavenly Father. His desire is for you. His desire is to see you do great and mighty exploits for His kingdom. His desire is to see His children, ALL of His children, do something BIG.

So you're not a Rhodes Scholar? Neither was King David. (In his day, having a 'sheep skin' meant something a little different.) Not a great orator? Moses had the same problem. Have something of a 'colorful' past? Consider Rahab, the prostitute. Not only did she make it into the lineage of Jesus, but she was the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth, giving us one of the most beautiful love stories in history. The list of people with problems, limitations, and less than stellar reputations goes on and on, but they all had one thing in common- a heart for God.

"Yeah, but you don't know what I've done" you say. Doesn't matter. I doubt very seriously that you've done anything all that bad and, even if you have, if you've given your life to Jesus, it's all under the blood- nailed to the cross. And no matter what the devil tries to tell you, your sin isn't bigger than God's love or His forgiveness. So stop listening to the enemy of your soul- he's just a lying scoundrel, anyway.

We all make mistakes. We all make the wrong choice, from time to time, but be encouraged. Just because we have less than perfect pasts or less than perfect lives doesn't mean we can't be used for the Kingdom. It doesn't mean that God has withdrawn His offer of a life of excellence for Him. "For God's gifts and calling are irrevocable." (Romans 11:19) What? Irrevocable. He'll never take them away.

It's been said that God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. It's true. What's He looking for? A willing heart. Someone who, instead of saying, "Why me?" says "Why not me?" He needs your hands and your heart. He needs someone to say, like Isaiah, "Here am I; send me." It doesn't, necessarily, mean that he'll send you to Mozambique. It may mean that He sends you to the grocery store, where you'll meet someone He wants to love on. It may mean that He asks you to do something as dramatic as putting a band aid on a neighborhood child's knee. It's amazing how such simple things can touch someone's life and, when we're faithful in the little things, God will promote us to bigger things (Matt 26:23).

Be His heart and His hands. Let Him love through you. Be Jesus with skin on for someone. Put yourself out there for a lost and hurting world. Sure it's risky, but when you see someone touched by the love of God that you've allowed to flow through you, you realize just how 'worth it' it is.

God has so many promises for you. He wants to bless you with a life that will echo for generations. Interested? I promise, if you'll step off the diving board, He'll make sure there's water in the pool. Someone once told me they'd heard Kathryn Kuhlman say her ministry was, originally, intended for a man, but he'd told God no, so He gave it to her. How sad for the man that said no to God.

What about you? Ready to say yes? Then pray this prayer:

Father, I come to you now, giving You all. Take my hands, take my heart, take my life. I choose to say yes to all You have for me. Lead me, guide me, teach me. Use me, Father, to impact Your Kingdom and to make a difference in the lives of all You send my way. I ask for You to open my ears to hear Your voice more clearly and to open my eyes to see the path You have laid out before me. Here I am, Lord. Send me. Amen

God will absolutely take you at your word and all I can say is- Welcome to an amazing life!