I Am the Vine

I don't know what it is about vineyards that makes them so special. But even if you don't like to drink wine, walking through the vineyards of this region is enchanting. Anyone who tends vines will tell you that there is much that goes into getting conditions right for producing fruit. The angle of the rose themselves, the angle of the pruning, pruning the right amount, the water, and on and on, get a vine dresser to start talking about grapes and they may never stop. Jesus said of himself, I am the vine and you are the branches. Remain in me and I in you, and you will bear a lot of good fruit. The timing of this statement is fascinating. Jesus tells it to his disciples In the hours leading up to his own death, I lost my father. Suddenly, when I was 21 years old. Looking back in the days leading up to his death, he started to give me and my brothers wisdom we could carry with us into the rest of our lives. Somehow he knew he was about to die and wanted to communicate to us what truly mattered. So what was with Jesus? What did he decide to concentrate on? Rules, diets, rituals. He says, make your life in me and you will have life. Whenever I see vineyards like these, I'm reminded of what is most important. Knowing Jesus and remaining connected with him, all the other stuff falls into place after that. Here's how one artist expresses Jesus' invitation. Come build a home here inside my love. Come shelter in the shadow of my wings. Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that you are safe. When you're weary and you're wounded. Rest in me. When you're thirsty, I'm the well that won't run dry. Come here and sit in the shade and simply breathe. Come lie down in the meadow. Let the tension go. Abide in me.