The Vine Impostor

Photo from Everystock Photo

I love my backyard, it is a little oasis for my family. We love sitting with our morning coffee while listening to the birds or sipping a glass of wine on the deck in the evening putting our feet up to relax. Our property backs up to a natural gas pipeline and all sorts of vegetation grows outside of the fence line. Much of our time working in the yard is combating the creeping weeds that wants to sneak in but this is a story of how we let one impostor take residence.

When we first moved in I surveyed the area and was pleased to see two grapevines growing against two fence posts. I wondered what variety they were as they were not listed on the detailed list of vegetation the previous owner took effort in providing us.

I watched as the ornamental peach burst forth with flowers, the crape myrtles bloomed and the jasmine scent wafted through the air. I was astounded at the fast growth of the grapevine and let it take over some of the fence line to support the expected  abundance of grapes, even to the point it began to inter mesh with the trumpet vine, but I wanted to yield as much fruit as I could so I let it grow.

The season for harvesting grapes came and went and I went out to the fence, put my hand on my hip and with disappointment started cutting back the vines. I thought, "maybe the previous owner didn't properly prune them last year," and that was the cause for not one single cluster of grapes. I got them to a manageable point and thought, "next year will be the year."

Next year came and again no fruit was to be found. That's when I had it and just cut the vines all the way to the ground, yanking and pulling the tendrils and leaves into a huge pile for the trash bin. I thought, "what useless grapevines."

I decided to take the dog on a walk down the pipeline one day and noticed many other fences had these same grapevines and even a few trees and scrub bushes had them too. That's when I finally realized these vines were impersonators. In reality they were a weed and people here in Texas call them wild grapes. I found that deceivingly odd, since they don't even have wild fruit, just the look of the real leaves and vine. I did some head slapping and guffawing at my failure to notice the counterfeit.

Today, as I was tending to these impersonators I found myself talking to God about how false religions acts in the same manner or another way of looking at it; how anything outside of His will and character acts in the same manner.

How beautiful the impostor looks, how enchanting to the senses it feels, how wonderful the perception of what you'll gain. It strokes emotion, it has elements of the real deal, you tend it, you let it grow because of the expectations you put on it. The end result is one overgrown mess that chokes out anything healthy and real trying to grow up around it. The crushing blow is it bears no fruit, leaving you empty handed, hungry and obviously not satisfied.

The tragedy lies in the impostors blinding deception, it becomes a circular habit; as most don't tear down the impostor but tend to it futilly year after year hoping to squeeze blood from a turnip. (ha, just had to use that one) The blinders don't allow for the real vine with abundant fruit to be experienced.

And this is where the beauty of Jesus shines on the situation. How can we know the real from the impostor? How can we be free from the reaching tendrils of deception? It is through God's Son and submission to Him.

How could I not end this post with John 15...Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener..."