out of the ordinary | the food

God frequently works through the ordinary. Through them he shares something of his love for us and reveals elements of his redemption plan. In this devotional series we look at some of the ordinary things Jesus would have encountered as he journeyed towards the cross. Today, fruits from the vine. Holy Spirit, will you reveal something extraordinary through each of them. Amen.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 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." John 15:1, NIV

I am a gardener. I love gardening. I don’t like weeding, but I love planting and pruning and planning where plants will go. And I’ve learned two things: first, you have to give plants the conditions they like or they won’t flourish and second, the rootstock is everything. If you have poor rootstock, you get a poor plant because the rootstock is the part of the plant from which new growth can be produced. And the genius of rootstock is it is possible to graft a young plant from a closely related plant species into an established one. Why is this genius? Because the young plant benefits immediately from the quality of the old rootstock since it allows young trees to bear fruit earlier, and determines the tree and root system size, the yield, longevity, resistance to pests and disease, cold hardiness and the plant’s ability to adapt to soil types.

So when Jesus says, “I am the true vine” I get really excited because I know I am grafted into quality rootstock and it is Jesus who will determines how quickly I bear fruit, what my yield is, my longevity, my resistance to pests and disease, my hardiness and my ability to adapt to the conditions I face.

We can’t be truly fruitful without being grafted into Jesus. I remind myself often as he is in heaven, we are in the world. Being grafted in Jesus means as he is loved by the Father, so we are. As he is in health, so we are. As he is in authority, so we are. We don’t have to dig deeper, push harder… we are grafted.

Let's pray
Thank you Jesus that I come from good stock! help me remain in your love and yield much fruit. Thank you that whatever I ask in your name will be given to me and my joy will be complete. In Jesus' name. Amen.