Old Vines

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Genesis 1:8

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Genesis 9:1

“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 15:15

My winter garden experiment continues and the fruit is being to show. Some plants just didn’t make it but some beans, squash and tomatoes are doing great. It’s amazing to see huge fruit filled plants growing from tiny seeds. It’s the purpose of all creation to be fruitful and multiply. Scripture makes it abundantly clear it’s our purpose in a special way. There is a reason that there is no worse feeling than that of being useless and unproductive. It’s no surprise when someone who has worked all their lives dies soon after retiring. Under their understanding of productivity, their purpose has ended. Sadly, they were mistaken.

Our multiplication and fruit production is more complex than making babies and making a living. It means adding bounty to the Kingdom. That means making disciples, more multipliers and fruit producers. Sometimes we become more spiritually productive after our material productivity has peaked. As our “making a living” and “raising a family” wraps up, we have more time, experience and focus on real fruit production. Ideally we have made disciples of our off spring, now we are now able to help them with their productivity.

I love it when our offspring call with questions and problems. These are the times that our few successes and, perhaps more importantly, our many missteps can be of use to someone else. I love this quote:

There’s something sexy about old vines.

It may be the gnarled curves of their trunks, the historic events they’ve witnessed or the sheer quality of their limited fruit, but winemakers have long sought out old vines. Young Winemakers – Old Vine Wines. 

Productivity doesn’t end with age. It becomes more focused, more fruitful, and, if we are blessed, highly prized.