Give Thanks

Jesus is about to feed 5000 people with a small boy’s lunch. And he gives thanks.

Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the dead. And he gives thanks.

Paul encourages God’s family to seek God in all situations with prayer, petition, and thanksgiving.

Paul encourages God’s family to be thankful in everything, not for everything. If we were thankful for everything, then we should be thankful for every evil, heinous thing that ever happens. Every atrocity. Every act of cruelty. All selfishness and sin.

God designed, and created, the world, so he would have a love relationship with people. The primary characteristic of relationship with God with people was intended to be love. That was God’s heart. Hatred, and evil, were not in the plans. We do not need to be thankful for COVID, economic disruption, loneliness, business failures, or any other fall out.

But we ought to be thankful.

Giving thanks can just be part of the formula, when we pray. But looking at Scripture, I think God intends it to be more. Thanksgiving is intended to be a reorientation, and a refocus, on God’s nature, character, and resources. Giving thanks should have an effect on our hearts. Which should, in turn, affect our perspectives. Which should, in turn, affect our actions.

What we do would be different, if we recognized God wanted a relationship with us, loved us, because we are his children, was always paying attention to us, was always listening to us, and always taking action for us.

Giving thanks ought to remind us of all of this, and what god has done for us already, and therefore, what he is willing, and able, to do. And if we are reminded about who God is, and what he has done, we ought to have confidence to move forward with whatever is happening, because God is moving with us.

The Vine and the Branches

On a grapevine, fruit grows on the branches. It is on the branches that life occurs. That which is valuable, or desirable, happens. The purpose for all the work in having a grapevine grows on the branches.

But, if a branch is severed from the vines, it dries out, gets brittle, and it is impossible to grow fruit. The branch can only produce fruit, if it is connected to the vine.

Water, and nutrients, are absorbed from the ground by the roots, and flow to the branches through the vine. It is the connection that activates any value of the branch.

When we gave our allegiance to Jesus, we became part of God’s family, and we were grafted into the vine. The material of the vine, and the material of the branch fuse together. Life can flow easily to the branch.

The branch can produce fruit, which is valuable and desirable. Or the branch can produce growth that waster the life, or produces bad fruit. That’s why the farmer gives active care, removing the bad fruit, and unproductive growth.

Of course, this vine-branch connection is figurative. What is really involved is the connection between people. A person’s allegiance connects him to the vine, but a person’s practice defines the nature of that connection. We can give our allegiance, but not necessarily live out that allegiance.

The vine (Jesus) wants the connection to be a vast river flowing into the branch, with each cluster of grapes requiring a semi to carry it. That type of “production” is extremely rare, to say the least.

Jesus urges us to maintain a state of connection. What that is, is not necessarily defined in this story. Of course, he does seem to comment on it. And his entire ministry is an almost perpetual lesson about connectivity to the Father.

Mankind was designed for this. The human spirit’s main fuel is relationship (connectivity) with God. God designed, and created, the world, so he could have a love relationship with the world, just like his love relationship within the God-head.

We know how that worked. Mankind rejected a relationship with God, thinking they were getting something better. And that rejection released all that is wrong, and evil, in the world.

And God’s message: “Come back! Re-connect!” And many have returned, and re-connected. And the connection, along with (according to Jesus) an active remembrance of what he said, will produce semi loads of fruit.

We remember what Jesus said, because if we practice what Jesus said, the connection works. Many have given allegiance, but they are not obedient to Jesus’ words.

If we are honest, no one is completely obedient. And many follow man-made systems, believing they are following Jesus. But, the God-head is living and active. Father, Son, and Spirit pursue a relationship with each of their children, providing daily communication. And persona; guidance and direction. There are many things that God give direction on that are similar. (All plants need water.) But many things are different, (Harvesting tomatoes and wheat are different.)

And we need to hear all of Jesus’s words to us. Words that are common to all. And words that are specific to us. And we need to obey them all. It is the obedience that maintains, and improves, the connection, brings life, and bears fruit.

The Farmer

It all begins with an idea in the farmer’s mind. Then, it is location, location, location. Wheat, and corn, are generally planted in flat areas. Grapes, and coffee, are often planted on the sides of hills, or mountains.

Then, the soil must be prepared. We think of plowing the soil, so seed, and roots, can penetrate easily. But, in mountainous areas of Asia, they plant rice. Terraces are carved out of the mountain, and appropriate soil is hauled in, and dumped on the terraces. In one place in the Philippines, an irrigation system was built, bringing water from the rain forest on top of the mountains.

Then, the seed must be planted. Grain is scattered. Some vegetables are plant with three, or four, seeds in a mound. In the colony of Plymouth, the Indians taught the Pilgrims to plant corn, using three seeds, and one fish, per mound.

Then, there is the ongoing care of watering, weeding, and fertilizing. Water, and fertilizer, provide necessary nutrients for the health and growth if the plants. Weeding removes things that hinder the health and growth if the plants.

Finally, there is reaping. There are a number of techniques, from using combines to harvest wheat, to handpicking tomatoes, and clusters of grapes.

God has designed all mankind. He is all-wise, so he must be at the beginning of all Kingdom works. Our part is to move in agreement with him.

We can seek him to hear his plans, so we know which way to move. We can seek him, and ask him, to move. We can be alert for open people, who may become doorways to bring the gospel to families, and communities.

He prepares the land for sowing, and reaping. He prepares it for each crop. Each work has common features. (All plants need water.) But, each work is unique. He will introduce, or allow, different things to provoke discontent with the status quo, and urge a search for meaning, and significance. (COVID ?)

He finds good soil, and plants his word. Some germinate quickly, and fruit is produced soon. Some move more slowly. God, the master farmer, is not concerned about time, or work, because his eye is on the harvest.

And the harvest is not grain, vegetables, or fruit. It is the hearts, and souls, of people. It is the family, that he is building.

The Grapevine

Right before he went to the Cross, Jesus introduced a metaphor to his disciples. God’s family is like a grapevine.

Father is the farmer. He prepared the ground, planted the seed, and cares for the plants. He weeds, waters, and fertilizes.

Jesus is the vine. He is the means of supplying life, nutrients, and energy to the rest of the plant. The branches grow, because they are connected to the vine.

God’s family are the branches. The branches are where fruit is produced. Fruit is produced, because the branches are connected to the vine. The quality of the connection matters too. If the branch is clinging to the vine by one, scrawny strand, almost breaking off, not much life can flow to it.

The purpose of the grapevine is to produce grapes. Fruit is the whole point to have a grapevine.

Fruit is essentially the effects of God’s family in the world. Because the fruit is connected to the branches, and the branches are connected to the vine, the fruit should have the nature of the vine in it. In other words, the fruit should have the nature, and the character, of Jesus.

Jesus walked perfectly with the Father. As branches, we will walk with the Father, not perfectly, because of sin. Be we should walk with Father in increasing perfection.

Jesus walked in perfect obedience to Father, in perfect love, and complete faith. So, his life showed the world, who God is, and what he is like. By his words and deeds, he moved people to desire to know God like he did, and choose to follow God like he did.

And this life, that was in Jesus, not only should be in us, it is in us. When we gave allegiance to Jesus, we were connected to the vine. The sap of the Holy Spirit is flowing into us, and, in some measure, out of us.

To give a simple definition: the process of growth, and sanctification, is a process of enabling, and allowing, the Holy spirit to flow through us, and in us, more freely, and easily. To connect us to the vine, securely, and truly, without hindrances, to allow the sap of the Holy Spirit complete, and undisturbed access to every last molecule of our lives.

There are experiences that hinder our ability to receive. They warp our view of God, his abilities, his love, and his intentions. Some of these are abusive. Some if these are honest presentations of what someone thought was the truth, but was a misunderstanding of God’s intentions, filtered through their own experiences.

That is why we need to remain connected. This is why, we need to continue to seek Father, to renew relationship, to obey more completely, to be open to Father’s input. He will cause life to flow, where it is needed most, to bring growth, perfection, and a greater impact in the world.