Thursday, February 24, 2011

Life Transfusion ...

You may or may not have heard of the verses in the Bible:

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." Gal.2:20

"I am the vine; you are the branches..." John 15:5

In other words, we are grafted into Christ. Christ is not grafted into us.

Think about it.

Hey, I'll admit that in my life...more often than not, I want Christ to be grafted into my life. I don't want to be grafted into His. I know. It sounds awful.

It's also really stupid if you take two seconds to think about it.

I mean, the reason I asked Christ into my life in the first place was because I recognized just how desolate and pathetic I was. When Jesus came in and became the central focus of my life; transformation was generated. Healing began. Changes took place from the inside out.

I was grafted into his life.

But somewhere along the way a subtle shift took place. Slowly, I took the reigns back - not completely, but practically speaking my actions were the reflection of someone who was grafting Jesus into their life instead of choosing to be grafted into Jesus.

Let that thought sink in and ask yourself if you've done the same thing.

Something tells me I'm not alone.

The good news is that I don't want that to be the case. And, technically, it isn't. Jesus never left me or gave up on me. That's just not the way He works. He keeps His promises.

But I do know that over time I began to take on the actions of a person who isn't taking the grafting process very seriously. Why is that so important?

There are many elements to grafting that are important, but the first thing to be aware of is why grafting is necessary in the first place. What does it accomplish? If you are a farmer or work with plants, you already know this.

There is nutritious sap in the vine, for example, that...when grafted together with a branch will provide a special nourishment that is essential for the newly grafted in branch to grow.

The same life which flows through the vine also flows into the branches.

When we are grafted into the vine or Jesus, His life flows into us.

I call it a ...

Life Transfusion...

5 comments:

Clint said...

Very meaningful. It gives me a little something to think about today. Blessings.

Debbie said...

Very insightful, Shay!

Toyin O. said...

So True Shay, I always need to be reminded to stay grafted in Jesus. I believe if you are not growing, you will eventually die. It is a daily commitment to be more like Jesus. Only his grace allows me to stay committed. Thanks for sharing:)

Sharon said...

Such truth in this one, Shay.

I'm so happy to be a little offshoot of the Vine! His nourishment is the best. And if He thinks that this little branch needs some pruning - well, that's all part of the process of growth!

GOD BLESS!

Kara @ Just1Step said...

I just found your blog through Casual Blogger Community...I'm really liking what you have to say so far! It's nice to have a pick-me-up. Thanks for sharing.