Good fruit

Isaiah 27:5 (MSG) Let that vine cling to me for safety, let it find a good and whole life with me, let it hold on for a good and whole life."

Grape vines are not strong enough to stand on their own and carry their branches in their own strength.

When I was growing up my grandmother had a grape vine running along a wire mesh fence outside the laundry which was in a separate building. I don't remember my grandmother pruning the vine too heavily but I knew, even then, that it could not support itself without the wire frame.

Vines are made to cling, so are we. However, we tend to cling to the wrong things, things that are not good support structures, things that move, things that perish quickly, things that consume us, much like weeds.

If we finally 'get it' and learn to cling to the Lord and see Him as our safety, our provider, our life source we do well.

A vineyard still faces the elements, extreme heat and cold, fire, hail, storm. However the vine will stay rooted and grounded if it is in the right place.

Likewise, we face the storms of life, sometimes they are fierce and unrelenting and we think 'surely this time I must perish', however we come through.

In the gospel of John we are told that the Father is is vine-dresser. By clinging to the Lord we know that we will also be fed, watered, pruned.

When vines are in a good place they produce the tastiest fruit.