Tag: Soil

The last post closed out with a quick review of some ideas about our roots.  Our roots are not seen by most people. They see the tree we’ve become without ever seeing the roots that feed us.  It is common for us to ignore our roots until we realize there is something wrong with the rest of the tree. The ground around our roots provides the general care and feeding that we need to grow, mature, and bring forth good fruit.  It is easy to pick out bad ground and good ground. Ground that has a mixture of bad and good soil, like the Reverse Golden Rule, may affect our fruit in ways we do not fully appreciate.

Though the focus was on the roots, the same can easily be said about whatever our base of support is: for the roots, it is the ground around them; for the branch, it is the trunk; for the limb, it is the branch; for the fruit, it is the limb.  In essence, those we’re plugged into that sustains us are the ones who determine the quality of the fruit we produce… and EVERY tree is recognized by its fruit.

We’re digging into who supports us: who are our roots buried in? What kind of tree or vine are we grafted into today?  This must be dealt with before we can look at the fruit.

Look at the ground your roots are in = The Fig Tree in the Vineyard in Luke 13*6 – 9

• What people see = The owner was looking at the fruit.
  • Problem = there has been no fruit on this tree for three years
  • Owner’s Solution: remove the tree
• Vinedresser realized the ground may be the problem and offers…
  • Vinedresser’s Solution = Feed the tree (improve the ground around the roots)
• At their parting, they agreed the vinedresser would give the tree focused attention and love for a year.
  • This is a game of patience so do not look for overnight success.
  • It’s been said, “It takes 20 years to become an overnight success.”  
  • It may take some time and focused attention before others begin to notice that fruit is growing on the tree
• The owner would return in a year to pick figs from this tree.
  • The tree stays if it bears fruit…
  • The tree gets cut down if it is unfruitful
• We do not know the outcome
  • We can predict the outcome
  • Better yet, we can determine the outcome for ourselves by making the ground around our roots a lot better

Can you improve the ground around your roots? = Luke 13*6 – 9

• Fertilize, add nutrition
  • Content consumption; regardless of the source… yep, it does affect us
• Remove other things that move in on your ground
  • Perhaps there is too much stuff on the ground above us that prevents water and oxygen from reaching us – gotta clear the clutter from above
  • Perhaps there are too many other roots from other plants around us that are getting to the water and nutrients before our roots do – gotta remove those who are depriving us of the spiritual food and water we need.
    • Content consumption; regardless of the source… yep, it does affect us
    • We reflect the 5 people we interact with the most: this includes the you tubers and Instagram influencers we follow and subscribe to, as well as the authors, lyricists, and bloggers we read.  Any content we consistently consume (regardless of transmission method) influences us.
    • Read the Word each day… the same principle applies: we radiate the content we consistently consume… such content affects the quality of the fruit we bring forth.
• I remember chatting with a friend whose worldview is greatly shaped by all things South Park.  I love Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s social commentary on the trending issues of the day, but I do not subscribe to every point they bring up.  Those who are figuring out their understanding of the human species can easily absorb Trey and Matt’s interpretation of current events, principles, philosophies, ideologies, and theologies and take them as “gospel.”  Their logic may seem rational, but it does not always hold up well to the Word of God.

While we are looking at the ground, check out Matthew 13*1 – 9  & 18 – 23, Mark 4*1 – 8 & 13 – 20, and Luke 8*4 – 8 & 11 – 15: The Parable of the Sower.  This parable is all about the condition of our hearts when we hear the Word of God as told by Christ through the analogy of the ground, the seed, and the resulting plants. As we go through these four types of ground, ask…

“What type of ground are my roots buried in?”

The Path, where the seed gets trampled on or carried away 

• Hears the word
• Does not understand the Word
• Snatched away by the evil one (Satan, the devil)
• Never stood a chance to bear fruit

Rocky Places, came up quickly but scorched and torched by the sun

• Hears the word
• Receives with joy
• Has no root
• Lasts a short time
• Believes for a little while
• Cannot handle trouble, testing and  persecution
• Quickly falls away.
• Was not alive long enough to reach maturity and bear fruit

Among The Thorns, choked out

• Hears the word
• Choked out by
  • Worries of this life
  • Deceitfulness of wealth
  • Desire for other things. 
• Reaches maturity but bears no fruit – like the fig tree in the vineyard

Good Soil, abundantly productive

• Hears the Word
• Understands it
• Accepts it
• Retains it
• Perseveres
• And produces a crop far greater than the seed itself

Ask again…

“What type of ground are my roots buried in?”

Perhaps it is time to transplant.

There is one of two ways a transplant can happen.  Either relocate the entire tree or vine to a new location, or cut branches that can be salvaged out of a dying tree and grafted them into a healthy tree that enables the branch to grow, flourish, and bring forth fruit.  Either way, the idea is for us to change who sustains us. Christ Jesus talks about spiritual grafting in John 15…

⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.  ⁶ If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  ⁷ If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  ⁸ This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.    John 15*5 – 8

Chapters could be written on these four verses alone, but I’m not going there today!  Christ’s word picture is crystal clear: quick summary…

• Christ is the Vine
• Each of us is a branch
• Remain in Christ to…
  • Produce a lot of fruit
  • Ask and receive
  • The Father’s glory
• Don’t remain in Christ
  • Get cut out 
  • Be disposed of
• Get it?!?!?!

Paul takes it a step further in Romans 11: Grafting is the act of transplanting a small branch or limb of a tree into a trunk or larger branch of another tree (John 15). This means change and adjustment so embrace the suck, accept the challenge, transplant not only for survival but more so… for a better and eternal life!!!

¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, ¹⁸ do not boast over those branches.  If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.  ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”  ²⁰ Granted.  But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.  Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either.  ²² Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness.  Otherwise, you also will be cut off. ²³ And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  ²⁴ After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!     Romans 11*17 – 24

The highlights of this passage

• The roots support us
• Us wild branches were grafted into the cultivated olive tree
• Natural branches were cut out, so do not think we wild branches cannot suffer the same outcome
• Natural branches can easily be grafted back in

Know that being a part of this tree or vine will be painful at times, as described in John 15…

¹ I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener.  ² He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  ⁴ Remain in Me and I will 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. John 15*1 – 4

Again, the quick summary

• Christ is the True Vine
• The Father is the Gardner
• We are the branches in the True Vine
  • Produce Fruit = Get pruned (trimmed back a little at a time) to bring forth more and better fruit in the future
  • Don’t Produce Fruit = Cut off

This is the believer’s life.  We experience the joy of being in Christ, and, at the same time, we feel the minor pain of the pruning we must endure to become more fruitful as our days continue on the globe.

There are numerous references to fruit in the New Testament.  All of them are great, yet irrelevant when we realize our roots are not grafted into the True Vine.  The clutter above our roots might be the barrier that prevents water and oxygen from reaching us. Maybe the ground around us is too shallow so we cannot handle the heat.  Perchance, there are too many other thorns growing up around us that are choking us out. Our goal is to be in the rich soil or the True Vine that is the catalyst that builds and sustains us as we produce fruit that is 100 times greater than ourselves!!!

God, the Father, is the Gardner.  Christ, our True Vine. Us, the branches that are supported, fed, and hydrated by the True Vine.  We may get our limbs and branches clipped from time to time. That is the Father’s pruning. Though it may be painful, it is not nearly as bad as being entirely cut off because we bear no fruit.  Believers have their reward in heaven, not here on Earth. Yet, the joy of sharing the fruit from the True Vine is ours in abundance every day. Such joy will carry us through the pruning seasons because we know that greater fruit will be harvested in future years!!!

Now… we can get into the fruit we branches can produce.  I am excited to about this. Candidly, looking at New Testament fruit metaphors and analogies was the original idea for this series.  Then I dug deeper into the Word and realized that the quality of the trees needed to be discussed before chit chats about fruit could take place. The next few posts will look at the fruit we branches of the True Vine can produce.

Is there something about Christianity that baffles you?  Leave a comment, or DM me through Facebook or Instagram

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Here is to us branches spending time in God’s Word each day.  It is the best ground we can sink our roots into each and every day.  Life gets interesting when we view the world through the filter of God’s Word.

Tootles!