Have you ever noticed how something harmful can slip into your life unnoticed, blending in until it begins to choke the good? I noticed this recently when an invasive vine crept into our shrubs
“Look,” I said, pointing across our yard. “A vine has invaded our shrubs. It will choke our plants.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Larry said.
A week later brown vines threaded through the green. “You took care of the vine. Thank you.”
While planning his attack on this widespread parasite, Larry located the vine’s main stem and severed it. Within a week, the invasive branches no longer posed a threat to the health of our shrubs, but their ugly remains still needed to be removed—hopefully without damaging the shrub.
We didn’t intentionally let those vines grow. They blended in with the shrubs. Like those invasive vines, sin can slip in as a small sprout. If left to grow it invades our whole being and chokes the spiritual life from us. As the Bible warns, sin causes death (James 1:15-16).
Death means separation. Just as with physical death the soul separates from the body, in daily life sin separates us from the life and power of Christ. It also distances us from one another and robs us of the joy and peace we once knew when living in fellowship with Christ.
In severing the root, Larry killed each life-draining fiber, even the hidden ones. This will make them easier to remove, but because they were allowed to invade so much of our shrubs, we still have work to do. Similarly, we can spend our days attacking individual sprouts of sin, such as temper outbursts, envy, pride, fear, anger, lack of self-control—or we can address their root.
As a bad vine produces brambles and thorns, so a good vine produces good fruit (Matt. 7:15-20).
How Abiding in Christ Produces Good Fruit
When we place our faith in Jesus we become new creations in Christ—the old has passed away and the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17). However, indwelling sin remains very much alive (Romans 6-7). We were crucified with Christ and born again with a new nature that loves God and wants to please Him. But while we live in this body, the parasite of indwelling sin sends forth branches that sap our strength and produce the ugly deeds of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21).
To counter sin, we must stay rooted and grounded in God’s love (Ephes. 3:16-19).
Abiding in Christ, the True Vine
Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5 NASB).
Having Jesus be a part of my life is not the same as making Him Lord of my life. For Him to be our Lord, we must surrender every aspect to Him. His Holy Spirit is then free to gently correct and lead us into truth.
Abiding in Christ Cuts the Connection with Sin
Romans 6:11 (NASB) says, “Consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Sin didn’t die at our spiritual birth, but we died to sin (Rom. 6:1-7). We experience freedom from sin’s power by considering ourselves dead to sin’s demands and enticements.
Instead of chasing the thorns, we focus on abiding in Christ and His love. We continually ask the Holy Spirit to fill us. We renew our minds with His word— not only reading it, but absorbing it, living it, and putting it into practice.
The root of the vine Larry severed may still live in the ground. But our shrubs are separated from it. Sin is still very much alive, but Jesus cut the connection. It no longer rules over us unless we give it power. The power of sin lies in our caving into its urges and promises. When we stay connected to Jesus through His Spirit and His Word, we cut sin’s power over us.
Abiding in Christ Through the Spirit
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. … But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:15, 22-23 NASB).
- Whose power am I relying upon to live the Christian life—my own strength or the power of the Holy Spirit? Romans 6:16 says we’re slaves of the one we obey.
- Whose promptings am I habitually obeying—sin’s or the Holy Spirit’s? The more I obey Christ, the easier it becomes to recognize the early sprouts of sin and cut them off before they take root.
My shrubs reminded me to guard myself from all sin, no matter how small or innocent it appears. Jesus has already severed sin’s power. Our role is to abide in Him, drawing life and strength from His Spirit, so that His fruit—not sin’s thorns—grows in us.
From Thorns to Fruit: How Abiding in Christ Severs Sin’s Power #faith, #hope Share on XBlessings,
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Good morning Debbie, Thank you for that thoughtful “parable” about the invading thorns in your yard and comparing them to sin. I’ve written a somewhat similar “lesson” about the invasive vine kudzu using it to illustrate sin in our lives and how it can take over if you don’t nip it in the bud, so to speak. I like the way you include the remaining brown vines even after the root has been cut and how it will take effort to remove them. I’m going to add your thoughts on that to the kudzu lesson I give to each new batch of women inmates that come into my weekly hour-long class at the city jail. I’ll credit you with those thoughts (:
Thanks for your faithfulness in this blog. It challenges me to get back to my own neglected blog. God bless your day, Debbie!
Thank you, Sandra, for reading and commenting, but more, for your ministry to inmates. I’ve taught in a local prison before and appreciate those who reach out to these women. I’m glad you caught that about the leaves. I’d wanted to say more on it but had already used more words than I like for a blog post.
Just as weeding a physical garden is a daily chore if we want to keep weeds from choking out the plants, keeping ourselves in Christ and leaning on Holy Spirit and not our own efforts is constant. I love the analogy and John 15 has always been one of my favorite scriptures.
Ann, I like your weeding analogy. Another reason to be still before the Lord so we can catch those seeds before they sprout.
This is so true, Debbie, “The more I obey Christ, the easier it becomes to recognize the early sprouts of sin and cut them off before they take root.” By the power of His Holy Spirit, we can draw near to Him, and refuse the tempting snares of the enemy.
Lisa, early in my Christian life I didn’t understand why if I was a Christian I still felt the pull of sin. Studying Romans 6 changed my life. So many essential truths in that chapter.
As a garden and nature girl, I’ve learned so many lessons from God’s Creation–and it seems there’s a new one (or more) each day. I enjoyed your message, Debbie, and appreciate the emphasis you placed on our essential need to stay connected to our vine (Jesus). Weeds and thorns in our flower beds and bushes are a good reminder of how sin can interfere with our relationship with our Savior, and in severe cases, destroy our connection with our Lord (our foundation–root–and–life-giving vine). Thank you for sharing.
I thought of you, Katherine, when I took that photo. You’re so good at capturing nature in pictures and analogies. Abiding in the Vine is essential to spiritual health. Jesus used the example of weeds too in the 4 soils parable.
This >> “The more I obey Christ, the easier it becomes to recognize the early sprouts of sin and cut them off before they take root.” The more I read and apply God’s Word, my awareness of His correction grows more acute. It makes the weeding out so much easier. And less painful!
Joanne, that’s so true. God’s Word sanitizes us and sensitizes us to the Spirit’s nudges.
Great message Debbie and so accurate. Sin can entangle our lives so subtly that we don’t notice until it is strangling our faith. It’s so important to stay connected to the good vibes.
I find it amazing how fast weeds can grow in a garden and how quickly bad habits that lead to sin can form. We do have to stay connected to Jesus.
What a great analogy. In one of Erwin Lutzer’s books, he compared Satan to an old landlord who keeps demanding rent even though we don’t live in his house any more. We don’t have to pay him. It’s all too easy to yield to sin when we’re not walking closely with the Lord. May we be filled with God’s Word and Spirit and produce His fruit.
I like Erwin Lutzer. His analogy is a good one. Thanks for sharing it.
You write, “His Holy Spirit is then free to gently correct and lead us into truth” – and He doesn’t point it out all at once. He teaches us one at a time, until one by one, our souls become unburdened by our sins. Our yard suddenly has poison ivy in quite a few places. We will be eradicating those in a few weeks. It was sure sneaky how they came to be here – we still don’t know. Wise analogy, Debbie – and one so good to keep in mind as we try to remain vigilant. Grace & Blessings my friend!
Maryleigh, poison ivy pops up in our yard too. A constant battle that imitates our spiritual lives. I hope you conquer your ivy!