"I Am the Vine"

I was so excited to spend my entire Saturday outside writing out thoughts for a new devotional book. When I finally stopped and looked up, I noticed the tree in the corner of our yard was covered with berries. Out of curiosity, I walked over and saw hundreds of dewberries growing on the vine that had attached itself to our tree. They were beautiful. Several black ones lay at my feet. So, of course, I had to start the process of gathering dewberries in hopes of making homemade jelly soon.

When I saw that vine, I was reminded of the muscadine vine that attached itself to this same tree a few years ago. God forever changed my life the day I saw those muscadines. I was focused on the berries and the thought of homemade jelly, but God brought a verse to mind that would become the focus of my second devotional book.

Here is a piece of the introduction pertaining to my thoughts of jelly and God's thought of His relationship with me.

"Excited at the thought of homemade jelly, I yanked on the vine. I tried separating this climbing plant from its friend, the branch. I instantly felt like I was in a game of tug-of-war. Unfortunately, I lost. (You may be laughing right now if you are an experienced vine puller, but I know absolutely nothing about wild grapes or vines.) I bolted inside and grabbed a pair of scissors and a step ladder. 

When I stepped on the ladder to analyze the situation further, I realized why I could not yank the vine apart from the branch. The vine had wrapped itself around the branch multiple times (see image below). 

John 15:5 immediately entered my mind: “I am the vine; you are the branches.” This verse took on a new meaning after getting up close and personal with an actual vine and its branch.

Looking at how tightly the vine wrapped around the branch caused me to think about Jesus and how He wants this same type of relationship with us. People may say they believe in Jesus, but what if He wants us to take our belief to the next step? What if He yearns for us to believe in Him and put our trust in Him?  What if He longs for us to be completely engulfed in His Word and solely wrapped up in Him? What if He desires for us to speak Jesus’s name in everything we say and do? What if He wants us to act like Christians the other six days out of the week and not just portray one on Sunday?

When I began to analyze my relationship with Christ compared to the vine and branch, I concluded that my spiritual walk could improve. Fortunately, we serve a God who knows we fall short but loves us regardless. If we were perfect, we would not need a Savior.

If you are committed to reading this book in its entirety, you are choosing to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ, regardless of your starting point. You desire to stop staring at Him from afar and instead abide or dwell with Him."

If you are interested in reading more, you can find my book on Amazon by clicking the button below.

Dwell with Me

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