Back To The Vine

A lot of you were probably like me-- privileged enough to have known Jesus from childhood. Probably through Sunday School and being born into a Christian family. Just like the Jews, we were "in" with God. From the moment we were born, we were immediately introduced to Jesus through songs and storytelling. Eventually, we get to know Him more personally and we got the chance to pray to ask Him into our hearts as our Lord and Savior before we even began to read. 


We didn't have to go our looking on our own. It was all brought to us. And for a lot of us, growing up in a home with Christian values generally gave us a good childhood compared to most, though of course not a perfect one. 


But just like the Jews, at some point, we walked out. 


We fell to the floor as deadwood and detached ourselves from the Vine- the holy Root, our foundation. (Romans 11:16-18). We did this for many possible reasons, driven by pain, by rebellion, by revenge, by influence, by escape, by curiosity or simply by standing for nothing, that's why we fell for anything.

"Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God's kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming!" (Romans 11:12 MSG)

But Paul says in Romans 11, though their fall has taken them out of the Vine, there was something good that came our of it. When the Jews did something wrong- closed the doors on God- it opened up for the Gentiles. Then Paul says, imagine what would happen when they do something right- what God can do with that.


God can turn our bad choices into something good for His purpose, but imagine what He can do with the things we can do right.

"Behind and underneath all this there is a holy, God-planted, God-tended root. (Romans 11:16a MSG)

 Beneath all the rebellion and rejection of God, there is still a holy root. Reminds me of the verse that says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it. (Proverbs 22:6)". A good foundation was laid in us in our homes and in Sunday School. Our knowledge of God when we were children was real. We just got lost along the way. But Paul has hope for us.

 "If the primary root of the tree is holy, there's bound to be some holy fruit. (Romans 11:16b MSG)

We just need to get up off the ground and back to the root. We need to be grafted into the Vine again and be brought back to life. Imagine what good fruit we can bear through Him.

"If they don't persist in remaining deadwood, they could very well get grafted back in." (Romans 11:23b MSG)

In one way or another, for a short span of time or for years and years of it, God  allows us to be "on the outs" with Him. This gives us a chance to experience the stark contrast of a life in Him and a life devoid of Him. Before and after. Old and new. Dead and alive. 

"In one way or another, God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in." (Romans 11:32 MSG)

But the longer we remain in that place- deadwood on the ground- the more we're missing out, the more were wasting time, the more we're collecting things that will weigh us down and make it harder to get back up.


But when we do return, He immediately does everything for us to set us right with Him- breaking chains and turning everything around. And we just end up saying, "What have I been doing all this time?"

"For from him, and through him and for him are all things." (Romans 11:36 NIV)

He chose me to be born into a Christian family. He laid out his purpose for me even before birth. And even in the times when I was in the "outs" with Him (which wasn't so long ago), His grace still followed me.


How could I explain completely being free of thieves and other dangers in the streets while commuting heavily for 5 years? How I would fall asleep several times in cabs at around 2am and still get home safely. I made so many mistakes that could have led me into bigger pitfalls and irreversible damage, but somehow those arrows missed its target. 


If you are currently still on the "outs", His grace still follows you, if you take a moment to notice. But why settle for this kind of life, when an immensely more powerful Grace awaits us in His arms? Not only does it give forgiveness, mercy and undeserved blessings, it gives us the power to do what is right and be who we were made to be. Nothing but the best of the best comes from this Root of Life. 


Just like me, if you grew up in Sunday School or if you had an early start in knowing Jesus or if you're a Pastor's or Missionary's kid or if you were active in church as a teenager or if you came to know Christ somewhere along the way....and then left, veered away from Him, fell away from the Vine and allowed the world to take you away---


Here is what I feel God is telling you through this passage. 

I will call you back and you will recognize my familiar voice.And when you hear it, you would want to come back to me.And I will let you return.And if you are not strong enough to make the journey,I will go to you and carry you back home.

Imagine what happens when we all return.
When we all, like the Prodigal Son, choose to come home.
When we all go back to the Vine, the root of our existence.


What a homecoming it will be.




PS: Here is an original song that my brother IoHann composed entitled "Back To You". It could pretty much summarize this entire blog. (Lyrics appear in the video) :)