"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. John 15:5
I am sure if you are a follower of Jesus you have heard several sermons on this area of Scripture. Most of the time the sermon goes something along the lines of stay close to Jesus. Read the bible, pray a lot, serve some, give your 10%--yada yada yada.
I my 11+ years of being a follower of Jesus, a Christian. I haven't heard many people talk about the 'below the surface' understandings of this section of Scripture. Most people don't talk about the tree's foundation, Yep the root system.
Trees grow cause they have roots that give them energy, sustenance, balance and strength. Branches grow cause the tree is healthy. The tree grows if the roots are healthy. If we are the branches then we ain't nothing without the roots. So what would those roots be?
The roots are God himself. The Divine being that is always eternal. He is infinite. Since He is infinite, the message He wants creation to understand is infinite in its original message. Regardless of the period in history it is shared, it is always the same. If that message was given to us to be understood, read, implemented into our lives then that message will stay true to its infinite & divine maker.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. God is Spirit, but He can be a known Spirit. What i love about Scripture (Yes i do believe a main underlying concept in Jesus words in John 15 is to stay connected to the message of the Father & that was & is through Scriptures), is that when we peak into the Bible we see some amazing messages on the surface, but if we take the time to scratch & dig under that surface we will see so much more God has for us.
I grew up being surround by many Jewish friends. Sharing with them in their lives, traditions, parties and conversations. I believe that God used those times to help me really draw me to Him at the end of my Junior year of high school. But what i do remember was the passion they used when talking about the Old Testament Scriptures. The excitement in retelling the Exodus story as if it was their own story. Something about that drew me to want that to be so real in my life.
Jesus taught the same way, Matthew 7:29 emphasizes that. He taught with a passion and authority. I wonder if more leaders that claimed that they knew the Scriptures would actually see deeper into them. Would see the Jewish cultural context from which they come. I love God's divine plan in allowing the Jewish culture & nation to bring forth the message from the Divine.
When i read the scriptures and when i read Jesus message i always try to see what is deeper. What sociological, psychological, physiological, theological, and more importantly life altering message is there for me that God wants me to hear and embrace for my life? What does He want my root system to be like?
I am sure if you are a follower of Jesus you have heard several sermons on this area of Scripture. Most of the time the sermon goes something along the lines of stay close to Jesus. Read the bible, pray a lot, serve some, give your 10%--yada yada yada.
Now before you right me off keep reading.
I my 11+ years of being a follower of Jesus, a Christian. I haven't heard many people talk about the 'below the surface' understandings of this section of Scripture. Most people don't talk about the tree's foundation, Yep the root system.
Trees grow cause they have roots that give them energy, sustenance, balance and strength. Branches grow cause the tree is healthy. The tree grows if the roots are healthy. If we are the branches then we ain't nothing without the roots. So what would those roots be?
The roots are God himself. The Divine being that is always eternal. He is infinite. Since He is infinite, the message He wants creation to understand is infinite in its original message. Regardless of the period in history it is shared, it is always the same. If that message was given to us to be understood, read, implemented into our lives then that message will stay true to its infinite & divine maker.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. God is Spirit, but He can be a known Spirit. What i love about Scripture (Yes i do believe a main underlying concept in Jesus words in John 15 is to stay connected to the message of the Father & that was & is through Scriptures), is that when we peak into the Bible we see some amazing messages on the surface, but if we take the time to scratch & dig under that surface we will see so much more God has for us.
I grew up being surround by many Jewish friends. Sharing with them in their lives, traditions, parties and conversations. I believe that God used those times to help me really draw me to Him at the end of my Junior year of high school. But what i do remember was the passion they used when talking about the Old Testament Scriptures. The excitement in retelling the Exodus story as if it was their own story. Something about that drew me to want that to be so real in my life.
Jesus taught the same way, Matthew 7:29 emphasizes that. He taught with a passion and authority. I wonder if more leaders that claimed that they knew the Scriptures would actually see deeper into them. Would see the Jewish cultural context from which they come. I love God's divine plan in allowing the Jewish culture & nation to bring forth the message from the Divine.
When i read the scriptures and when i read Jesus message i always try to see what is deeper. What sociological, psychological, physiological, theological, and more importantly life altering message is there for me that God wants me to hear and embrace for my life? What does He want my root system to be like?
"The root system of any tree is far more extensive than the branches themselves"--Brad Young
_
No comments:
Post a Comment