[Real Life] Struggles StrengthenNäide

Vines vs. Grass

A vine has to struggle to get the best fruit. Vines grow differently than grass. The grass is put on the topsoil and it only grows down a few inches. That is how grass gets its nutrients. Vines are often grown in rocky areas on mountains and hills, so vines are forced to go 2 to 4 feet (0.5 to 1.2 m) underneath the topsoil, to get the deeper nutrients and bear sweeter fruit. 

Are you a Christian who thinks that you are going to grow like grass, or who is going to grow like vines? The grass is topsoil-growing. Vines go deep. Great fruit comes from great struggle. 

In 2011, the Supreme Court banned churches from using public schools in New York City for after-hours worship services. Sunday morning, the schools were closed, yet the City banned the use of the school by a rent-paying church. As a business major, it looks to me like governments need as much money as they can get. From a spiritual side, it was a bad decision, as well, because the churches were a blessing in the neighborhoods they were planted. They were abiding in Christ, producing the fruit of the Spirit where they worked. 

The City thought the churches were going to cry out they were victims, but they did not. Not the ones abiding in the Vine. 

Struggle strengthens. We entrusted that ruling to the Lord, prayed, and filed an appeal. We believed that God would do greater things through the churches than they could ever imagine. You thought you were going to shut down the Church by a court ruling? See Pontius Pilate. See Julius Caesar. Watch what God does, because struggle strengthens the faith and the believer. It sends us out stronger. We pray, walk, and trust more. We dig deeper!

Now once again, New York City churches are allowed to meet at public schools for after-hours worship services. The churches that faced eviction grew stronger because of this trial. In the end, the services they provided while they abided in Christ were exactly the fruit of the Spirit the City of New York needed. 

You walk with God in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and God will take care of you. Embrace the struggle towards righteousness. When faced with a struggle, the question we must answer is, “Will we trim the sails, or will we sail boldly into the wind?”