Every branch wants to bear fruit. That’s the plan from the beginning. But, ‘unless a grain of wheat fall into the dirt and break down'(1) – it remains alone, bearing no beauty.
Unless a grain of ‘anything’ fall into the ground and ‘die’- it forever will stand on its own with no flower – oh sigh!
God’s Word in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, had me in the middle of a garden thinkin’ of all kinds of things:
“Abide in the Vine of Love never-ending. A river of life will continually flow. With gentle power, when we walk in the Spirit and put a stop to our flesh as we go!” This reads so ‘flowery’, so ‘easy’ so ‘sweet’…
But we must not be mistaken – the path is not all ‘rosie!’ We won’t ask for troubles to come, oh no, but they do! We have sunny days and cool breezes, but then the north wind blows… and the dark clouds roll – ‘What then! What then! What then must we do?
We must speak to our soul the words of a song. We must sing a new song – now of faith, not of fear. God abides in our praise, let a worshiper’s heart appear:
“What have I to dread, what have I to fear? Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms…
“What a fellowship, what a joy divine, leaning on the Everlasting Arms. What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!”
The answers! The answers are written right here- now …to just keep singing, just keep singing, as the north winds blow so near.
John 12:24-25 “Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you’ll have it forever, real and eternal.”
“What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms! Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!
I have peace complete with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms!”
(1) Joh 12:24.
(2) Everlasting Arms, Elisha Hoffman.