Disconnected From God

Almost every grocery store has a florist in it. They almost always right up front when you walk in so you’ll notice them. My wife and I were admiring some of the bouquets the other day. The vase was a beautiful sculpted glass. The roses were a soft pink and were just beginning to open. The baby’s breath was dotted throughout making it look fuller than it was. We remarked about who would love to receive such a beautiful display. However, I’m not one who likes to purchase flowers because they cost a lot for something that’s about to wilt. They’ve been cut off from their source. They may look good and alive right now, no matter how much water and white powder I put in there, they’re going to start showing signs of deterioration soon.

All throughout the Old Testament, God warns His people to stay connected to Him. He tells them not to intermarry with other cultures who worship other gods because they will begin to be like a flower in a vase getting their water from another source. He tells them that they will deteriorate and that He will cut them off. Because people are so easily enticed away, He tells them to bind His Word to their body and to hide it in their heart. Yet we read the cycle of them serving Him, being led astray, God warning them, the people ignoring Him, enemies conquering them, the leaders repent and the cycle starting over. That’s the story of each of us honestly, once we are disconnected from our start to deteriorate spirituality.

In John 15:4 Jesus said, “Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me” (AMP). It’s impossible for us to produce fruit when we are disconnected from Jesus. This world and its culture are constantly trying to disconnect us from our source. It wants us to get our water from it than from Him. Like in the Old Testament, we are easily drawn away and get disconnected. We can dress it up and fake it for a while to look good, but over time, our disconnectedness from God will show up in our life. We must remain in Him to produce the fruit He wants us to produce. How is your connection to God right now? Have you been allowing yourself to get separated or tempted to drink water from another source? Repentance grafts us back into the vine to remain in Him. We can’t afford to live disconnected from our source.

Photo by marmar sa on Unsplash