by Pastor David Troxler
Scripture: Romans 11:13-24
Recently, after its reopening, we went to the Hershey Flower Gardens to see the bright colored rose bushes all in full bloom. I don’t know how many varieties of roses there are, but the gardens that day were lush with scores of different types of roses. While I am not an expert, I do understand that one way a new variety of rose is developed has to do with grafting one plant onto another, causing a new hybrid flower.
Today’s passage is about branches of a wild plant variety being grafted into a cultivated plant. The newly grafted branch takes its sustenance from the root system of the existing plant and causes it to grow and become part of the existing plant.
The Apostle Paul however makes a startling caution. When he addressed the Roman church, he reminded them that they were the wild branches then added to the cultivated olive tree. Spiritually, they could not survive on their own and their only source of spiritual life was tied to abiding in Christ. Paul notes that the original olive branches were pruned because of faithlessness towards God. That could just as easily happen to the newly grafted branches. Verse 21: “If God didn’t spare the natural branches, He won’t spare you either.”
As Christians, we cannot afford to live off the notion that since we are Christian, we are all set. The Jews felt that way about Judaism before Christ and when God moved among them in Christ, they failed to trust God’s leading.
Christians can have the same problem. Just because we might say “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do all kinds of wonderful things for you?” and He replies that He didn’t know us. That only happens when we lose our faith and start trying to do it all on our own. In effect, we remove ourselves from the established root system.
Paul tells us not to brag about our greatness, to not yield to the temptation of pride about our standing. The old adage that “pride goeth before a fall” is still true.
Branches grafted onto a plant gives new life to something that was once dying. Be thankful for the new life you have.
Lord Jesus, thank you for taking me in. Keep me in the safety of your vine. Amen.