Are Your Roots Close Enough to the Living Water?

   

When I was about four years old I was in the grocery store with my mother.  It was about the age I started feeling a growing sense of independence and so I began to wander a little farther from her hip.  Then it happened!  My eyes caught a glimpse of that small section of the grocery store tucked between the kitchen utensils and the paper plates - the toy section!  You know, the yo-yo's, little parachute soldiers, those flashing squishy balls, and miniature, magnetic checkers.  I was in heaven!  I couldn't have been there for more than four minutes when I looked down the aisle, first one way then the next.  It couldn't be!  But it was! MY MOM WAS GONE!!.  She was nowhere to be seen.  "MOM!!!",  I screamed as I ran down the aisle and around the corner, smack into a kind, old lady who grabbed me gently by the hand just about the time my mother came around the other corner. Relief! No doubt I stayed in close proximity to her for the rest of the trip.

prox-im-i-ty

noun
      1. nearness in space, time, or relationship.


We like to be close to things we enjoy, things we need, or things that bring us security.  I was recently watching a seminar about coyote hunting (OK, I'm a little redneck) and the speaker was talking about how eastern coyotes stick close to cover, not wanting to go out into open fields.  They Like proximity to thick grass, tree lines, or other cover because they know if they wander too far away from them they might die.

We've all seen pictures of a stream meandering through the desert; sand as far as you can see; white, lifeless sand except along the water's edge where green plants paint the path of the stream like a green snake on a white floor.  Why?  Well it's obvious that if plants get too far from the river their roots will not be long enough to find water.  The result:  they first whither then they die.

I have seen in my own life that when I'm distant from God my life starts to look more like a desert place and less like a place of grow and life.  I can do man sized things and I may even look successful from the viewpoint of the world but inside I begin to whither. God spoke these words through the prophet Jeremiah:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.  That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes.  They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.  But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

When we wander from God our spiritual lives begin to fade.  It's often a subtle thing but the Devil is good at making us comfortable with the slow fade.  It's so insidious that we might not see it until it all comes crashing down like a house of cards.   What might this look like?  Well, for many it might just be "the business of life"; work, school, sports, hobbies, politics, video games, etc. We wake up and do life with a little bit of God sprinkled in on Sundays for an hour or two.  We acknowledge that God is God and that Jesus is Lord but our lives are not abiding in him. For others it might be a slow fade into a life of sin. Either way, it's like a tree picked up and moved too far from the living water of the stream. 

     Jesus gave us an equally powerful analogy along with a command in John chapter 15:

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:3-5

Jesus uses strong, directed words without ambiguity.  "Remain in me … must remain … unless you remain … If you remain … apart from me you can do nothing." He used qualifiers, "Unless and if".  He reveals a truth that we need to hear.  Although, we may appear to be doing things when we are not in him, we are in reality doing "nothing".  The worldly things will be absolutely fruitless.

I want to urge you, as I usually do, to examine yourself.  Are you really abiding in HIM?  Are you really seeking his counsel in all you do?  Are you starting your day in prayer and listening for his direction on a moment by moment basis?  You see, a vibrant, fruit laden branch isn't attached to the vine once in a while but constantly, 24/7.  Stay close to Jesus. Don't wander too far because in the spiritual sense you are like the four year old in the grocery store.  You need your parent.  You aren't as wise as you think you are and the temptation of the toy section is very strong.  If we stay close we will not fear when the drought comes, fall when temptation comes, or fail when we are asked to produce fruit for his kingdom.

Peace,

David
     


   

A Withered Vine and a Dying Cowboy

Do you remember the old western movies where a cowboy who was wounded by an Indian arrow is found by a group of settlers?  The cowboy is at the edge of death and later we see him bandaged and lying in a bed with a woman sitting next to him holding a spoon full of mush.  She touches it to his lips and urges him, "You MUST eat to regain your strength."  A while later we see the cowboy healed and heading off into the sunset.  Hold that thought.

A thunderstorm hits and the winds howl.  A few days later you walk out into your garden to see your prized climbing rose with a number of broken and bent stems and branches.  There are branches on the ground that are dead, dried, and shriveled.  There are others that are bent and look withered but are still alive.

The dictionary defines "wither" as:

- to shrivel or dry up as part of the process of dying, or making something, especially a plant or part of a plant

- fade away; to fade or lose freshness or vitality

Jesus gave us a number of images that help us to see how much we need to be in communion with him.  He called himself the bread of life and living water and reminded his followers that if they remained in him they would never die.  He gave them a parable about the vine and the branches and warned that those branches that didn't remain attached to the vine and thus failed to produce fruit would be thrown into the fire.

I don't know about you but when I go off on my own for a while and fail to remain in the Word, fall away from my prayer time with God, and fail to stay in CLOSE fellowship with like-minded, bible believing brothers and sisters in Christ, I begin to wither.  I lose a little of my spiritual strength.  I struggle with sin.  I fail to produce good fruit.  It can feel a little like being a cowboy crawling through the desert with an arrow in your backside.

If you feel a little weak in your spiritual life or if you are sensing a little more distance between you and the Father then I urge you to eat of the bread of life and to examine your spot of attachment to the vine.  I know it's easier to say than to do but start by asking the Father for help.  Tell him you don't want to be apart from him.  He will draw you near.  Feed on the Word.  Pray, Pray, Pray.   Don't forsake gathering for worship and don't be afraid to tell a brother or sister how you feel.  Their prayers and encouragement are so valuable.

Take it from someone who goes through seasons of spiritual drought.  There are times of refreshing that will follow if you stay the course.  God has used those times to humble me but also to grow me.  He has reminded me of my utter dependence on Christ.  Feel free to contact us if you need some prayer or encouragement.

Peace,

David