I am the True Vine--John 15:1
All earthly things are the shadows
of heavenly realities--the expression, in created, visible forms,
of the invisible glory of God. The Life and the Truth are in Heaven;
on earth we have figures and shadows of the heavenly truths. When
Jesus says: "I am the true Vine," He tells us that all
the vines of earth are pictures and emblems of Himself. He is
the divine reality, of which they are the created expression.
They all point to Him, and preach Him, and reveal Him. If you
would know Jesus, study the vine.
How many eyes have gazed on and
admired a great vine with its beautiful fruit. Come and gaze on
the heavenly Vine till your eye turns from all else to admire
Him. How many, in a sunny clime, sit and rest under the shadow
of a vine. Come and be still under the shadow of the true Vine,
and rest under it from the heat of the day. What countless numbers
rejoice in the fruit of the vine! Come, and take, and eat of the
heavenly fruit of the true Vine, and let your soul say: "I
sat under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet
to my taste."
I am the true Vine.--This
is a heavenly mystery. The earthly vine can teach you much about
this Vine of Heaven. Many interesting and beautiful points of
comparison suggest themselves, and help us to get conceptions
of what Christ meant. But such thoughts do not teach us to know
what the heavenly Vine really is, in its cooling shade, and its
life-giving fruit. The experience of this is part of the hidden
mystery, which none but Jesus Himself, by His Holy Spirit, can
unfold and impart.
I am the true Vine.--The
vine is the living Lord, who Himself speaks, and gives, and works
all that He has for us. If you would know the meaning and power
of that word, do not think to find it by thought or study; these
may help to show you what you must get from Him to awaken desire
and hope and prayer, but they cannot show you the Vine. Jesus
alone can reveal Himself. He gives His Holy Spirit to open the
eyes to gaze upon Himself, to open the heart to receive Himself.
He must Himself speak the word to you and me.
I am the true Vine.--And
what am I to do, if I want the mystery, in all its heavenly beauty
and blessing, opened up to me? With what you already know of the
parable, bow down and be still, worship and wait, until the divine
Word enters your heart, and you feel His holy presence with you,
and in you. The overshadowing of His holy love will give you the
perfect calm and rest of knowing that the Vine will do all.
I am the true Vine.--He who
speaks is God, in His infinite power able to enter into us. He
is man, one with us. He is the crucified One, who won a perfect
righteousness and a divine life for us through His death. He is
the glorified One, who from the throne gives His Spirit to make
His presence real and true. He speaks--oh, listen, not to His
words only, but to Himself, as He whispers secretly day by day:
"I am the true Vine! All that the Vine can ever be to its
branch, "I will be to you."
Holy Lord Jesus, the heavenly Vine
of God's own planting, I beseech Thee, reveal Thyself to my soul.
Let the Holy Spirit, not only in thought, but in experience, give
me to know all that Thou, the Son of God, art to me as the true
Vine.
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