A Parable In Our Backyard

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

As I was meditating on Jesus' parable of the vine and the branches the other day, I was suddenly struck with the notion that we have grapevine in our very own back porch... a lot of it. How cool would it be to go out and see the amazing network of vine, branches, and grapes that grow out there. Perhaps Jesus' parable will truly come to life. Here's a lesson from our very own backyard.

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This is where the vine takes root. This is the foundation from which the vine starts to grow. Once the vine takes root it is firmly planted in the soil and cannot be uprooted.

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Over time, the vine begins to grow upward towards the sky where it will receive its nourishment from the sun and the rain. It will also be shielded from animals and critters below who might damage the branches or try and steal the fruit for themselves.

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Once the vine reaches a certain height it begins to grow branches from which the grape clusters begin to grow. Little buds of small premature grapes begin to form around mid-May.

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When a branch doesn't bear fruit, it is pruned back and still given a chance to sprout new clusters of grapes. Sometimes oversized leaves will choke out the branches and prevent them from bearing fruit. Occasionally, a branch dies altogether due to disease, bugs, or broken from the vine and is then cut off and thrown away.

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When a branch finally receives the appropriate amount of sun and water, it begins to bear much fruit. A healthy branch that remains firmly connected to the vine will bear more clusters of grapes than others.

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