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The Farmer and His Vineyard


The Farmer and His Vineyard
The Father of Oenology and Viticulture
by Dewey Compton 
Once upon a time, there was this vine. He was a young vine but didn’t know what kind of vine he was. Many tried to tell him he was this type of vine or that type of vine. He was pretty much happy being a vine, but others told him he needed to find the farmer and ask the farmer to come into his vine.
Nope, scratch that.
Once upon a time, there was this Farmer. He had the vision to create a beautiful vineyard of precious grapevines. He planned it out all in his head. He went to buy the best grapevines he could find. He planted them in their own rows, tended them and cared for them according to their individual needs. He watered them faithfully and fed them fertilizer so they would grow healthy. And grew they did. Wild branches began to just shoot up. The farmer pruned these scraggly growth spurts back. The vines were not happy at first. They couldn’t understand why the farmer would hurt them that way. But over time, the grapevines grew fuller and thicker. Birds would come and rest on their branches in the shade of their grape leaves. Then they understood why the farmer trimmed them. More time passed and they became mature. They began to produce these luscious grapes in large quantities. Every grapevine was loaded with clusters of grapes. When the farmer looked out at his incredible huge vineyard, he was filled with joy. It was stunning to look at. “I made this. I planted these grapes and cared for them and gave them everything they needed. Now it is harvest time.” The farmer was so excited. He had intentions to make new wine with these grapes. He wanted to do something new and creative with them that had never been done before. So he started the process of harvesting the grapes and doing a new thing.
The moral of the story: The farmer brought the grapevines into His vineyard, not the other way around. It begs the question we have all been taught in the church: Does a person really accept or invite Jesus into their life? What if salvation was this: we simply acknowledge and agree that Jesus, like the farmer, paid a price for us and planted the US into His life?
“I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. The words I have spoken over you have already cleansed
you. So you must remain in life-union with me, for I remain in life-union with you. For as a branch severed from the vine will not bear fruit, so your life will be fruitless unless you live your life intimately joined to mine.”
- John 15:1-4


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