Ezekiel 14 & 15 -- What Part Of The Vine Am I?

God gave Ezekiel a visual image of what idol-worship was doing to His people.  Today, that same picture can be applied to carnal Christians.

God asked, “Is the wood of the vine better than the wood of any tree in the forest?  Can wood be taken from the vine to make anything?  Can you use it to make a peg on which to hang something?”

It’s easy to imagine someone taking wood from a tree and cutting it into something useful, like boards for a table or a house.  I even have a lamp, a coffee table, and a fireplace mantle made from mesquite wood.

God asks us to compare that to the wood from a vine.  My grandmother had a low chicken-wire fence separating her property from the alley, and she’d planted honeysuckle along it that over the years had covered the fence on both sides, hiding anything in the alley from the view from the house.  My cousins and I had great fun hollowing out the insides of the honeysuckle vines to make a “blind” in which to hide.  With no tools, it was still very easy to break the “wood” of the vine and get it out of the way.  Those “limbs” we removed were good for nothing, including even making a stick to chew on.  We’d gather them up and throw them into the trash barrel.

My commentary said, “A vine is good only for bearing fruit; it is not good for making furniture or even a little peg … As branches in Christ, the True Vine, our chief function is to bear fruit for God.  Primarily that means the development of Christian character as seen in the fruit of the Spirit.”

Regardless of any high opinion we may have of ourselves as to our usefulness, God wants us to part of the Vine – not the dead part underneath that has failed to move and that has been eclipsed by other branches, but the vital part out on the edges, absorbing the Sonshine and bearing fruit for Him.

Father, I want to remain closely connected to You.  I want to feel Your spiritual nourishment moving in and through me the way nutrients move through a vine to its branches.  Help me to concentrate on my main task – bearing fruit for You.  Keep me from all “unvinely” things.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford