Grafted into the vine
by Norma Koehne
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‘Restore us God Almighty … that we may be saved’ (Psalm 80:7).
I wish I could draw the amazing picture that the psalmist builds up of God’s care and protection of the people of Israel. He plants a vine that covers the whole land like a canopy, to nourish and protect the people. It covers the mountains and trees. The people can rejoice and feel secure under its shade; however, the people of Israel turn away from God. The vine is plundered and damaged by wild boars and insects, and the psalmist pleads for God to return and restore the vine, and watch over it and ‘the son you have raised up for yourself’ (verse 15).
This picture reminds me of Jesus’ words, ‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5). Later in the chapter, John tells us that this fruit is love, ‘This is my command: love one another’ (verse 12). We have been grafted into the vine in our baptism, tightly bound into the stem, so that we can flourish and grow, and God’s love can flow into us and through us to those around us.
I remember a touching story from Siassi in Papua New Guinea. Their first much-loved missionary, Bamler, was killed in an accident. To spread the sad news to everyone, the message that went out was that ‘The big tree in the forest has fallen and the birds have flown away’, meaning they have nowhere to find rest and security. Above all, who will bring them the saving words of the gospel?
How much more do we find rest, security, and nourishment as we remain grafted into the vine of Jesus’ love and mercy?
Lord, keep us safely grafted into the vine of your love and mercy, and nourish us with your saving word. Amen.
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