The Valley of Vision (3)

“O Holy Spirit, I thank thee that in fullness of grace thou hast exhibited Jesus as my salvation, implanted faith within me, subdued my stubborn heart, made me one with Him forever.” The Valley of Vision, page 3, Banner of Truth Trust. (italics mine).

Being made one with Jesus is a wonderful assurance; we can stop striving and rest when we know that the work of Christ is perfect and that He is our Sabbath. To be sure there is an enigma in that as we rest in the completion we have in Jesus Christ, we find ourselves being changed from glory to glory into His image – as has been said, “We are becoming who we are in Christ.”

We have a peach tree on our property, and I recently noticed that all of the branches were bearing fruit except one. I looked for disease on the branch, but there was none. I looked for insects eating away at it, but there were none. I looked around me to make sure I was by myself, and then I asked, “Branch, why don’t you have any fruit? Surely you can see that all of the other branches on your peach tree are bearing fruit, why is it that you have no fruit?”

The branch, strangely enough, answered me. “I do not have fruit because I am trying to become part of the tree. As soon as I become part of the tree then I can bear fruit. This is not my peach tree yet because I am not yet a part of it.”

“But,” I replied, “you already are a part of the tree, you already belong to the tree, the life of the tree is already within you. Simply accept what you are in the tree and allow the life of the tree to flow within you and you will have beauty and fruit and the sweetness of your fruit will feed others.”

Alas, the branch did not believe me, and it still bears no fruit – it is trying to become something it already is. The branch does not know that it has already been made a branch in the beautiful peach tree – in fact, the branch fights this message.

So many professing Christians still striving, still working, still attempting to measure up – not realizing that the Holy Spirit has made them one with Jesus Christ forever.