I spent my childhood abbreviating everything. What became modern day texting was my way of communicating as a boy who never grew up. I was a noncon4mist who watched my grampa have fun by being different. Whenever my grampa left a note, he would sign it “The Mgmt.” He was in charge, and everyone knew he was different on purpose. Grampa njoyed being a bit off. I never heard my grampa ever call my gramma by her first name. He called her “wife” or “battle” or “koonk.” He’d hand you the jack of diamonds playing hearts and get a silly grin on his face. I loved my grampa. After gramma prayed for fifty years, my grampa finally came to Jesus. My grampa always made time for me whenever we came to Pittsburgh for a visit. He was my buddy, and I miss him.
As our society has caught up with my abbreviating trends, now everyone is spending thousands of dollars rebranding their logos into one letter. I should have become a brander and gotten rich. Instead, I chose to follow V. Jesus is the Vine. Our life comes from Him. Our fruit comes from being securely rooted and nurtured by The Vine. Apart from Jesus—our Vine—we can do nothing. If you want new and abundant life, you must sink the roots of who you are into the soil of God’s marvelous love. Jesus is the only source of lasting security in a world of ever-changing chaos.
The problem I recently discovered is that as I have always abbreviated everything in capital letters, our social media-driven society calls capitalizing screaming at people. I’m not a screamer, but I still abbreviate everything in capitals.
I’ve also discovered a troubling pattern as I’ve journeyed with people. What was sacred and divine is no longer sacred in our society. People deny Jesus’ existence or live day-to-day as if Jesus doesn’t exist. Presidents, pastors, teachers, and people are scoffed at instead of being deeply respected. When you take the DiVine out of our society, God hasn’t changed, but everyone and everything becomes distorted and perverted.
The Vine has become a shouted, angry, cuss word when people are frustrated. Instead of being rooted in The Vine, Satan has tempted people to choose alternative vines. We have hundreds of rapidly- growing, culturally-approved vines sucking the life out of those who bear the image of The Vine. It must grieve The Father to see His beloved children turn away from Him and create idols that make people sick, detached, and deluded.
When we shift from cultural to personal, do you know where you’re vulnerable to Satan’s temptations? What vines make you feel good and comfortable in the moment that can actually suck the life out of you? What have you allowed to wrap itself around your mind, your heart, your home, your workplace, or your church that has disrupted what was once holy and set apart for Jesus? If you’ve repeatedly tried to set boundaries and be set apart for Christ yet it’s not working, maybe it’s time to leave what’s unhealthy, toxic, or depleting you emotionally, physically, relationally, or vocationally.
When I began my career, I stayed in unhealthy places too long and it cost me and my family dearly. Your “length of stay” doesn’t make you holier. When something or someone has a toxic effect upon you, you become sicker instead of stronger. Building up a tolerance for sin can’t be spiritualized away by a proof-text or an enabling ear.
My heartfelt cry and prayer are more of an invitation to a journey. It’s a journey into the embrace of the Vine, Jesus Christ. The journey begins by saying “yes” to Jesus. Your journey begins by saying “no” to whatever or whomever may be sucking the life out of you. Christ will complete and heal you.
Anxiety or anger will wreck you. Bitterness can suck the life out of you. Complacency, tolerance, or conformity can shut you down and make you someone that you don’t even like anymore. Technology will slowly rewire your brain to the place that you lose your awareness of self, others, and God. If you stop self-medicating your stress, The Vine will wrap His loving arms around you and remind you that you are a beloved child of God. You were designed to reflect the light and love of Jesus Christ. You were designed to be different from everyone else. You were made to use your God-given life and talents to uniquely make a difference in the lives of those who are entrapped and need set free.
Change may temporarily disrupt your rhythms, but when the Holy Spirit invites you into a new way of freedom, He charts out the path and walks with you step-by-step. Changing the way you think, live, or relate can be scary. It feels like venturing out into the unknown. But as Corrie Ten Boom once said, “We should never be afraid to trust an unknown future to our known God.” Our Christian faith must express itself through love if we’re going to attract people who are lost and hurting and trapped in addictive vines. If our lives are not permeated by the love of Christ, then we must give up what’s holding us back and pursue Christ and health and what they demand of us.
My scars and healing may not be evident to the world. My testimony and yours are very personal. The process of healing and transformation is Spirit-directed and unique. No one can tell you what to do. But the key to change is surrendering to the love of God. The Vine is fully rooted and secure. You may try to pull it up or cut it off, but you can’t change or get away from the love of God in Christ. Jesus wrecked and changed my life and set me free. Now I live and serve and write for Him. I can shorten and abbreviate everything, but I cannot change my unchangeable God or the gospel. The life-giving Vine has the power to change everything in and around you. “O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him”(Psalm 34:8).