Christian String Theory!

Boy, I tell ya, I just get so excited when I learn something new! For some of you, you may be aware of what I'm going to say. As a matter of fact, I was aware of it...but I hadn't made a connection between what I'm going to say as it relates to the Christian life.

Well, if you've read some earlier posts then you know I'm talking about grafting plants together. I relate it to the vine (Jesus) and (us)
the branch that is being grafted into the vine.

Of course, the first and foremost thing any Christian will want and need to do is:

Read the Bible and Pray - It is the main way you are going to receive nourishment. If you don't read the Bible for yourself on a regular basis, then you won't know when you are being deceived. It's great to listen to special Christian speakers and Preacher/Teachers, but you need to do that in addition to reading the Bible on your own. And don't let prayer scare you. It is a special way to keep your communication with God open at all times.

But there is something else you will want to know!

Listen.

Did you know that after the branch is grafted into the vine, an important last step is taken to ensure the two stay together?

With the help of a string or a cut rubber band, the two plants are bound together. Since those things hold the cut sides of the pieces together it encourages them to bond together.

So, what does the string represent? How does the rubber band fit into the Christian paradigm?

I would like to share with you some thoughts that I have.

A couple of things come to mind:

1) Both the string and the cut rubber band are temporary.

I feel really fortunate as I look back to the beginning of my walk with Christ. Several pieces of string were immediately wrapped around me, which kept me very close to Christ in the initial grafting in process.

For example, I remember a guy named Tim, challenged me to read the book of Romans...20 times! He usually had people read the book of John several times, but for some reason he felt like he needed to give me the "Romans" challenge. I am very grateful for that.

Did I read it all those times? Well...no...but I did read it 14 times. It was a great jump start! That challenge was temporary, but other things will be so important that you will want to incorporate into the entirety of your new life.

2) Both the string and the cut rubber band are outside sources. They aren't the source of nourishment. Their purpose is to keep our physical selves bound with Christ. Of course the main sealant is the Holy Spirit, but God also uses other things to help us stay close to Him.

Church, Bible Studies, Retreats, Christian Radio, Books, Mission Trips...to name a few.

As you can see, I could go on and on. General rule of thumb: If it is going to draw you closer to Christ, it is a good outside source.

I call it the...

Christian String Theory!