Grafted In

Once upon a time, an old, large, beloved tree along the Main Street of a small town was chopped down.

The town mourned the tree, for the tree grew along a quaint public road. 

And now it was just an ugly stump. 

A few folks talked about it, for a few weeks…

But, alas, there were other beautiful trees in the area.

The picnickers, limb-climbers, and bird watchers would just go there instead. 

The town grew. Vehicles buzzed along the road. 

It wasn’t long before other buildings rose up and the sky where the old tree’s leaves fluttered was covered over.

And the old stump was forgotten. 

Until one day, a child scooted up. 

He brought a branch his father had cut. 

While his branch was still green, he cut deep in the old stump, and could see inside, little beads of lingering sap. 

The boy pressed the pointy edge of the branch down into the sap.

Deep down into the stump’s wound.

Then he watered the branch.

Watched the branch.

Watered and watched. 

For days.

For weeks. 

For a whole year.

Then…

Look!

Children stopped to see.

Passerby’s began to notice. 

Vehicles halted alongside the road. 

People poured forth from the buildings. 

To see, the boy…

Holding baskets and baskets and baskets of crisp, bright fruit.

Everyone rushed to him.

For love of fruit. 

For love of the tree.

For love of the boy. 

This short parable speaks to something deep in all of us. Many in the church feel forgotten. Chopped down. Fruitless. Hopeless. Despite the power of Jesus, we can feel like a chopped down old tree. 

And our new series for September “Grafted In” is meant to seek out the things long forgotten in ourselves, in those around us, and position us to awaken us to the hope of new life, found in vital connection with Jesus and one another. 

Are you ready?

Paul says, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3: 14-20

Lord, may you open our hearts to see one another and to see you. May you make new and fresh connections in our relationship with You. 

And open us to who in our church and our community needs a fresh connection. Needs your healing. Needs our blessing. Who might You want to reach through me? 

Amen.

See you Sunday,

Pastor Dave