WE SHOULD CLING TO CHRIST RATHER THAN ANYONE ELSE

No doubt about it, we tend to cling to our “stuff” and things and people before we remember that Jesus is the only one to whom we should depend.

Eternal Perspectives            by Sally Bair

Clinging Vines

Poplar leaves of golden hue / Cling, tenacious, a stubborn few / Till frost assaults then life-stems die / Like rain they fall with wind-swept sigh.

As leaves shower to earth in the slightest breeze, a few cling to their branches even during hard winds. They spin round and round on their stems, pummeled by wind and weather. In the calm they hang limply, yet remain steadfast to their host branch—like a clinging vine.

We too may cling … to someone such as our mate, children or parents. We bombard them with questions: Where are you going? Where have you been? What are you doing? Clinging vines tend to smother the lives and affections of those to whom they cling.

We may cling to things, too. Alcohol, drugs, TV, money, position, even memories or memorabilia. All of these can be unhealthy ways to fill a perceived void. Clinging can also cause self-centeredness.

Like the tenacious fall leaves that cling to their branches, we should cling to Christ. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Abide means to adhere or cling to. When we cling to Christ rather than other people or things, He will give us strength and nourishment to grow and to bear much fruit for His kingdom. He will prune us of things that need to be corrected.

Lord, we recognize You as the only One who can give us lasting and abundant love, joy and peace. Help us cling to You as a tenacious leaf clings to its branch, even when we are pummeled by the winds of life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

(Reprinted from The Nature of God: Autumn’s Splendor Daily Devotionals by Sally Bair. She may be reached at www.sallybair.com.