grace-granted holiness-rooted tree grafts

I wanted to comment on this passage here that I found very interesting today. I also want to say how awesome it is that everything in the Bible relates to each other, and how whenever I pick up the Bible, I can’t find something that doesn’t immediately teach me a lesson in any given day. I just wish I remembered this more often, because though I may be quick to pick up recommended Christian books, I often forget to pick up the Book that all wisdom comes from.

This passage is from the Message reading Bible by Eugene Peterson. It made a lot of sense to me in my battle against pride over other Christians who aren’t on the road. My comments will be in brackets. Romans 11:16-24

Behind and underneath all this there is a holy, God-planted, God-tended root. If the primary root of the tree is holy, there’s bound to be some holy fruit. Some of the tree’s branches were pruned and you wild olive shoots were grafted in [If you didn’t read the context around this passage, he’s talking to the non-Jews]. Yet the fact that you are now fed by that rich and holy root gives you no cause to crow over the pruned branches [He’s just saying the “newcomers” are no higher than the Jews who’d fallen away]. Remember, you aren’t feeding the root; the root is feeding you [get your pride out of your mind!].

It’s certainly possible to say, “Other branches were pruned so that I could be grafted in!” Well and good. But they were pruned because they were deadwood, no longer connected by belief and commitment to the root [sure, those who have fallen away may not be part of the plan right now…]. The only reason you’re on the tree is because your graft “took” when you believed, and because you’re connected to that belief-nurturing root [when we surrender, we have to give up our lives. He’s giving the ones whose grafts took a pat on the back here, but then he goes on…]. So don’t get cocky and strut your branch [Eph 2:8-9 – saved by GRACE, no one can BOAST]. Be humbly mindful of the root that keeps you lithe and green.

[Remember, this is the “holy root” from God. We have no holiness in us. We may think we can be holy, but holiness is not defined by good actions, it’s defined by a good heart. Who changes our hearts? Not us! We can’t do that ourselves. I’ve tried before—sure I could do some pretty nice things for a while, but not coming out of a moldy heart.

This whole picture is us as Christians grafted into God’s plan for us to shine His light throughout the world. The “root” is the Spirit in us. This root keeps us “lithe and green”—not from ourselves, not by any nice thing we might do. No one can boast about themselves. But, boast about Christ, He is wonderful!]

If God didn’t think twice about taking pruning shears to the natural branches, why would he hesitate over you? He wouldn’t give it a second thought [don’t let pride take you over like sin took over the “deadwood branches”]. Make sure you stay alert to these qualities of gentle kindness and ruthless severity that exist side by side in God—ruthless with the deadwood [Matthew talks about going to a friend you see falling away. You’ve heard the process—if he doesn’t listen, take a brother, if he still doesn’t, you should take him before the church, etc.—when this says “ruthless”, I really think he means these kinds of actions. These “deadwood branches” used to be in the tree, so they’ve seen the Light and they know better.] gentle with the grafted shoot. But don’t presume on this gentleness. The moment you become deadwood, you’re out of there.

And don’t get to feeling superior to those pruned branches down on the ground [don’t look at other believers who aren’t on the road and get proud about you’re your position]. If they don’t persist in remaining deadwood, they could very well get grafted back in [you could be workin’ next to ‘em next Sunday]. God can do that. He can perform miracle grafts. Why, if he could graft you—branches cut from a tree out in the wild [wow, does that put us in our place or WHAT?]—into an orchard tree, he certainly isn’t going to have any trouble grafting branches back into the tree they grew from in the first place. Just be glad you’re in the tree [and thank Christ with everything in you], and hope for the best for the others [teaching others, not telling others].

…so what do you think? Puts us in our places, huh? Well it does to me. So, in essence, we are “grace-granted holy-rooted tree grafts”. Does any of that sound like we did anything on our own? I have a bit of trouble sometimes—I get prideful when I find myself walking on the road again and I see others who aren’t. There’s people who might try to explain it to me logically, and it’ll stick for a little while and I’ll be fine, but I guess the Bible’s always gonna be the one who spells it all ultimately out for me.