Monday, August 6, 2007

Isaiah 27:2-5

In John 15:1-17, Christ speaks of the vineyard. He is the vine were are the branches. If we abide in him and he in us, only then will we bear much fruit. The Father is the vine vinedresser, the vinekeeper. He prunes and cuts and cares for his vineyard with the utmost care.

Where as in John the analogy comes from the perspective of the "vine," this analogy in Isaiah comes from the perspective of the "gardener." But their message is the same: love. In Isaiah we get a glimpse at how much God cares for and loves his vineyard, the lengths he will go to keep it looking beautiful and perfect. In John 15:17, Jesus gives us the reason why he talked about the vineyard: "These things I command you, so that you will love one another" (ESV).

God loves his vineyard; we are a part of that vineyard; we need to make every effort to abide in Christ, to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, so that we in turn can love one another (Matthew 22:37-40).

"We love because he first loved us"--1 John 4:19

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