Recently I had another 'truth of scripture' lesson brought to me front and center. A few peeks around my humble surroundings and some familiar texts coming to mind led me to the somewhat harsh understanding of what God in His mercy reminds us of before our begrudging acceptance of His word on that final day. The fifteenth chapter of John and the thirty-seventh Psalm served me to recognize how growth happens according to God's perfect plan.
A neighbor down the street had finished a tree-cutting project. Their quaint driveway was filled with logs, stumps, and branches seemingly overnight. The battle with the city to remove the results of their labor ensued. But in the midst of it all, a strange but not unexpected thing happened. Death quickly introduced itself. You see, much like Jesus reminds us in John 15:5-6, branches not connected to the vine not only miss out on bearing fruit, but they are simply thrown away. After observing my neighbor's yard for just a couple of days, I can see why. Being apart from the vine, the source of life, not only limits effectiveness, it leads directly and swiftly to death. No source of life, no life. No sustenance and nourishment, no life. No abiding in the Christ-vine, nothing CAN be done. The only result that makes sense is to be "thrown away like a branch", to wither, to be gathered and "thrown into the fire, and burned". Just like tree branches could do nothing apart from the roots, so we can do nothing apart from Christ. The lesson learned was the speed of such death. We can fool ourselves to some degree and for some time, can't we? We say the right things to the right people at the right times, and everybody thinks we're OK. But vine-less living can only lead to death. Within forty-eight hours of being cut off from their life source, my neighbor's branches let it be known that death comes quickly.
The joy of Psalm 37:5-6 brings the truth home on the opposite end of the spectrum. God WILL act. He WILL bring life. He does so in a way that will honor and glorify Himself. And He sometimes invites us into the process as well. A little over a year ago, my son decided to put science on notice and try his hand at an arboresque project. He had heard or read about little acorns becoming mighty oaks and thought he'd give it a shot. A little seedling that had fallen off a silver maple tree at our home was lovingly planted in a simple pot. Water and sun treatments ensued, along with a little prayer and wonder. A move to a bigger pot followed after a while. Then the day came when he recognized that this growing twig needed to spread its wings in our yard. We found a spot in which we desire shade in the coming years and made the transfer. We were all excited to see leaves sprouting and its survival after a wind storm or two. It has been a good lesson to notice that each and every day does not lead to massive growth spurts (at least none that we can see). Many forty-eight hour spans have come and gone with hardly a notice of what is happening just feet from the driveway. But the results are being seen in the long run. First a leaf, then a slight change in the color of the bark, then a small expansion height-wise to the sky. Slow and steady. Like the dawning of the day, it is gradual but noticeable. But we don't often stop to 'notice' it, do we? If you make the commitment of Psalm 37:5 ('commit your way to the Lord'), know that 'He will act'. He is consistent with moments of tremendous growth that He allows us to see, all in an orchestrated effort to glorify Him.
The next verse in Psalm 37 encourages us to wait patiently for God to move. Know that He is moving. And soon the dawning will unveil a noonday sun. But life apart from the vine will bring results much quicker.
