Not Quite Finished

In my time with the Lord this morning I was reading a passage from a book called, Steward Leader Meditations. It was all about abiding, fruit producing, and intimacy with Him. It naturally used the John 15 chapter as its root scripture and had some very deep and thought provoking words to ponder.

One of them led me to thoughts on the portion of scripture that talks about the Father cutting off branches that bear no fruit. Re-reading that section made me ponder of when I was shortly out of high school and off on a journey of my own where I was certainly not producing any fruit for the Kingdom. I was pretty much leading a life of self-centeredness and seeking pleasure out of this world that did not come from a close relationship with Him. There was all kinds of debauchery that I don’t need to elaborate on here, but my life was definitely not one that was pleasing to God.

So, I’m wondering if the Father cut me from the vine during that season of life? He obviously let me wander in fields of sin. I’m not sure that I could remember many times when I felt a life-giving attachment to the vine. There were certainly, unquestionably, times when I recognized the grace and mercy of God to me – vehicle accidents, friends dying of overdoses, skirting the law by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin. Yet the whole of this grace and mercy really didn’t sink in until many years later during times of reflection on the past. So if the Father cut me from that vine how did I wind up where I did, faithfully serving him overseas for so many years?

In pondering this dilemma, I got to thinking about the process of grafting. How trees and other plants are capable of having another branch grafted into them to produce a better fruit or tree. The act of placing a portion of one plant (or person) into or on a stem, root, or branch of another, in such a way that a union will be formed and the partners will continue to grow.  In looking back on my life after I was cut from the vine for so many years, I can see how God began to graft into my life people who helped me to re-grow my relationship with Him. Sister Anne Timony, Doug Knapp, Ralph Boyle, Bert Dyson, Fred Leverets, among others. Initially and for a long time, I had always read that passage as being cut off from the vine forever. Left at the foot of the vine to whither and die in the ground below. Yet today, in this time with the Lord, this grafting resemblance surfaced and gave me a new perspective on God’s teaching.

By His grace and patience with me, He began attaching people to my life who would mentor me in ways to draw nearer to Him in our relationship. I am so grateful, and relish the kindness of Aine, the wisdom of Fred, the incredible grace of Doug, the obedience of Ralph, the faithfulness of Jack, the endurance of Bert. Each of these grafts that the Master wove into my life made me something that He could use for His glory. My hope now is that He can continue to use me in that very same way – grafting me into others lives that will help them to grow in their intimate relationship with him.