Day 039: Sustenance

"Do not boast against the branches.  But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you." Romans 10:18

Through Paul's harsh wording, I see an image that is very telling: God is a master gardener.  This also reminds me of one of my own gardening feats.

Perhaps my favorite kinds of plants are succulents, particularly cacti, because of their relative simplicity for care (in terms of watering) and their sheer, alien beauty.  Among my favorites is the Ruby Ball Cactus because of the fact that it's a red cactus.  However, the interesting thing about the plant is that it can't really grow on its own.  It doesn't get all the necessary nutrients, so it needs to be grafted onto another plant, which is why the cactus can normally be found grafted on top of another cactus.

One time, when I had one of these plants, the bottom plant was dying.  So, I took another cactus that I had and attempted to graft the Ruby Ball onto another plant.  I have so many books about how to grow and tend these plants, so I figured it shouldn't be so difficult.  After having the two plants attached with yarn holding the two together, I was sure that the plant would grow.  Unfortunately, both of the plants died very soon after.

Grafting one plant onto another is quite difficult to do.  But God can do it, and you better believe that God has done it among our communities this day.  God is the one who goes around, helping attach new members onto this growing olive tree of faith.  Alongside that, God is the one who makes us shine our brightest, making us bear the best of fruits, so they can be used for greater things.  God is the reason why we succeed.

However, we like to take all the credit for our successes.  We like to deem ourselves as the sole purpose behind everything we do, when, in reality, it is God's grace that allows us to shine.  We think that just because we have the red glow and the perfectly trimmed white spines we are the greatest of plants, but, in reality, we are dead plants without the stability that God provides in our life.

God gives us life.  Let us continue to live it in a godly way.