Filed Under : by Dakota
Friday, November 13, 2009"And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, What is the vine tree more than any tree, or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest? Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is it meet for any work? Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned?"
-Ezekiel 15:1-5
Now I've never owned a grapevine, but I know enough about them to tell you that they aren't good for anything but bearing fruit. Think about it. Can you cut it down and make anything out of its wood (verse 3)? No. People plant grapevines for no other reason but to receive the fruit of it. As Christians we are God's "grapevine", and our task on this earth is to bring forth fruit for Him (John 15:8).
Once a grapevine stops bearing fruit, it is no longer good for anything and is cast into the fire (Verses 4 & 5). Jesus said in John 15:2, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away..." Notice here that Jesus says "Every branch in me..." Christ isn't talking about sinners here; He is talking about born-again believers that simply are not bearing fruit. The Lord does not tolerate unfruitfulness.
Jesus tells a story in Luke 13:6-9 of a certain man that owned a fig tree. For three years strait it bore no fruit. Seeing no reason to allow this tree to take up groundspace, he told the dresser of the vineyard to cut it down. The man replied saying that he would give the tree special care, and perhaps it would bear fruit; but if not, he would then cut it down.
This story gives us a wonderful picture of God's forbearance and longsuffering. If we are unfruitful in our service to the Lord, He will give us opportunity after opportunity to bring forth fruit. But our God is not one who likes to play games, and after so long He will no longer put up with our unfruitfulness.
What have you done for God today?
Once a grapevine stops bearing fruit, it is no longer good for anything and is cast into the fire (Verses 4 & 5). Jesus said in John 15:2, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away..." Notice here that Jesus says "Every branch in me..." Christ isn't talking about sinners here; He is talking about born-again believers that simply are not bearing fruit. The Lord does not tolerate unfruitfulness.
Jesus tells a story in Luke 13:6-9 of a certain man that owned a fig tree. For three years strait it bore no fruit. Seeing no reason to allow this tree to take up groundspace, he told the dresser of the vineyard to cut it down. The man replied saying that he would give the tree special care, and perhaps it would bear fruit; but if not, he would then cut it down.
This story gives us a wonderful picture of God's forbearance and longsuffering. If we are unfruitful in our service to the Lord, He will give us opportunity after opportunity to bring forth fruit. But our God is not one who likes to play games, and after so long He will no longer put up with our unfruitfulness.
What have you done for God today?
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