Lessons from a Tomato Vine

Earlier this spring, some wild notion possessed my dad to plant fourteen . . . yes, fourteen tomato plants in our backyard. I still haven't dug deep enough to understand his initial reasoning behind this course of action. At any rate, with summer in full heat, the tomatoes have been ripening left and right. We are very blessed.

When the harvesting first started, I would pull the red, but still hard, tomatoes off the vine and set them on our garden table for them to continue ripening. On the other hand, my mom would take scissors and cut a little piece of the vine along with the fat, juicy red sphere and set it on the table to allow it's ripening to complete.

Well, yesterday morning, Mom came in and exclaimed, "Rebeka, look at these!" I glanced up from reading the local newspaper to see her holding the vine-ripened tomatoes. "You know what this reminds me of?" she asked. Mentally I replied, I know what it reminds me of. Food. Yum. Without waiting for an answer, she explained.

"Remember in the Gospel of John when Jesus talks about how we are to abide in Him? Well, this is a perfect demonstration of that. These tomatoes have ripened better than the ones we picked directly off the plant. And it's the same with our relationship with God. When we abide in Jesus and surrender to His Lordship, He grows us to be a mature branch, enabling us, by His grace, to bring forth blossoming fruit for His glory."

With that, she left me, leaving me to wonder how she could have gotten such a deep spiritual truth from a gnarly tomato vine.

How true it is. I must abide in Christ in order to bear fruit to His Name. I cannot bear fruit on my own authority, thinking that somehow my words and actions will pique others' interest in the Gospel. Only by abiding in Jesus Christ can I have any assurance that my faith is indeed secure.

"Abide in Me, and I in you.

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,

unless it abides in the vine,

neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

He who abides in Me, and I in him,

bears much fruit;

for without Me, you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in Me,

he is cast out as a branch and is withered;

and they gather them and throw them into the fire,

and they are burned.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,

you will ask what you desire,

and it shall me done for you.

By this My Father is glorified,

that you bear much fruit;

so you will be My disciples."

~ John 15:4-8 ~

May I always seek the shelter and protection that comes from abiding in the Vine. And, possibly, may I bear much fruit to His Name.