Broken Vines | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Broken Vines | Previous Challenge Entry
By Shane Kahkola
11/26/05
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As children with 100 acres of woods behind our house, my brother and I spent much of our time in the trees. One of our favorite past-times was to swing on vines. Sean and I would spend hours in those woods cutting vines free from the trunk of the trees so that we could enjoy them. Of course, we had to be careful in choosing our aerial transportation. We would hold on to the vine and try to pull ourselves up. If it fell, we knew we couldn’t trust it. Those vines were tricky to spot. A lot of times they seemed strong and sturdy. A thick vine had seemed to be a good sign of a strong vine. But, once you apply some weight to them, they snap! They would come loose from the branches and fall from the tree. Many times, we would find a vine that would pass the test. We would swoosh through the air, hollering like Tarzan saving Jane, only to wind-up swooshing through the air, hollering like school girls as we met the ground, rather abruptly, with the vine in our hands.

Perhaps you know someone like that. He seemed kind enough, so you thought a simple kiss wouldn’t hurt anything. I mean, sure it’s a first date. How bad could it be? But he took more. He took much more than he was supposed to. You didn’t ask for that.

She seemed to have your best interest in mind, so you told her about your concerns regarding the boss. She wasn’t supposed to say anything but she went straight to his office and now you are out the door without a paycheck.

You needed counseling and your pastor seemed to be the perfect choice. He was gentle, kind and seemed to understand everything you were going through. He was helping you mend your marriage. But, you woke-up next to him this morning and now, there’s no hope of saving anything.

Our relationship with other people is a lot like choosing a vine. As children of God, we must come to grips with the fact that our trust should not be in the branching vine, but in the true Vine, the tree, the ultimate in strength. It was God who created your date, it was God who put your co-worker in their position and it was certainly God who called your pastor to your church.

The trust you place in others must be based on their attachment to Christ. The strong vines my brother and I used to swing on successfully had many branches that were well integrated into the branches of the tree. When we pulled on them, the strength of the tree backed the strength of the vine. As long as the vine was attached to the tree in many places, we could swing all day long.

Those are the people that build you up. Their strength doesn’t come from being trusted, but from trusting in the source. John 15:1…7 (NASB) says, “(1)I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser… (7)Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” Which means, don’t trust in the people you meet, trust in Christ! He will direct your path. He is the true Vine you can trust. Men and women will fail you, but Jesus will get you there. He can take you from the pain you’re in to the healing you need. In fact, if you are distant from Him, He will “graft” you into Himself according to Romans 11.

There is no better way to live. When you allow Christ to graft you into Himself, you can become a trustworthy vine for others. Imagine, from hurting and wounded to helping the hurting and wounded.

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