Thank-You Vine
My wife and I have been trying to teach our children the importance of prayer. Like all worthwhile pursuits, teaching a child to pray is an ongoing process (since I’m still learning how to pray, I suspect that the process never reaches a conclusion).
Before mealtime, we have taught our boys a simple prayer: “Thank-you, Jesus, for this food, Amen.” It’s simple, it’s to the point, it’s easy to remember. It’s also easy to recite with absolutely no thought or emotion. My boys (aged 5 and 2) can fire off this prayer in about 3 seconds flat and then it’s time to chow down!
Over the last little while, my wife and I have been trying to get them to think about what they are praying. I’ve taught them why we say “Thank-you” to Jesus before mealtime (ultimately, all that we have is a gift from Him). So now, when the boys rattle off their prayer, I’ve been asking them, “Why do we say ‘Thank-you’ to Jesus?” in the hopes that eventually, they will be saying their prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving to their Lord.
Yesterday, my older son said to me, “Could we say ‘Thank-you, Vine?” After making sure I had understood what he was saying, I asked him why he would want to say “Thank-you, Vine”? (I suspected where he might be going, but wanted to hear it from him). Sure enough, he told me that in Sunday School, he had been taught that Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
(John 15:1-8, NIV)
I said to him that if he is think of Jesus when he says “Vine”, that it would be fine to say “Thank-you, Vine”.
I’ve continued to think about his question since yesterday morning. The more I think about it, the more appropriate it seems to me that in our prayers, we could refer to Jesus as “Vine”. After all, all of our needs, physical, emotional, spiritual… are all met, ultimately, in Jesus. We can accomplish nothing on our own. Anything we accomplish is done through Jesus Christ. A vine sustains the branches. Jesus is our sustainer.
Another thing that crossed my mind is that God the Father is the gardener. If we are acknowledging Jesus as the Vine, we are also indicating (or should be indicating) that we are willing to let our Heavenly Father lovingly “prune” us so that we fall more into the image that He desires for us!
—
Later that day, my son told me, “We could also say ‘Thank-you, Shepherd!”
I was incredibly blessed by my son yesterday! I’ve been trying to teach him about prayer, and he turns around and begins to teach ME! Jesus is given many different titles (Vine, Shepherd, Lamb, Lion…). Each one of these names shows us a different view of who Jesus is. I want to start using different ways to address my Saviour (there’s another name!!). My hope is that I will get to know who he is better through the process. But more importantly, I hope to get to know Him better!
