Psalm 80:8-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸ You brought a vine out of Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
⁹ You cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.

We Christians are so familiar with John 15:4-5 that we mistake some passages within scripture about the vine to be about Christendom. This vine in Israel. If you read Psalm 80 in its entirety it will be easier to see. The end of that psalm makes it plain where Christ stands.

Psalm 80:17-19 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷ Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

¹⁸ So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

¹⁹ Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

John 15:1 English Standard Version (ESV)“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

What is the significance between Jesus the true vine and any other vine? His roots dig deep into the truth. His Father makes sure that anything produced by His Vine bears the fruit of truth. The vine of Israel dug deep into its inheritance and took root in the land.

How do I know? I read Psalm 80.

Psalm 80:12-13 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹² Why then have you broken down its walls,
    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
¹³ The boar from the forest ravages it,
    and all that move in the field feed on it.

God removed the hedge of protection because that vine did not produce the fruit of truth. Their fruit was a yield of the earth and the earthly things took their harvest.

When we read of a vine in scriptures be sure which vine is being addressed and see if truth is in the fruit produced.

James 2:23 King James Version (KJV) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

Forgive my trying to be clever here with associating imputed with impudent. I am concerned at this moment with attitudes which can arise from being overly familiar with our thrice holy God.

I am speaking from experience right now. I have been arrogant at times which is off putting. While I am ashamed to admit it, I must be honest in my assessment of my own behaviors. At this time I do not personally know anyone with this problem.

I do however perceive some who have a very comfortable relationship with our Lord. Comfortable is a relaxed position and a position that is not always on guard against the craftiest tactics of our enemy.

What if I were to say that Abraham was given credit for being righteous? Credit is not a position of earning, it is indebtedness. The ESV uses the words “it was counted to him as righteousness”.

Getting overly familiar with our Lord can lead to an attitude that sounds a little like this. “You know I love you.” It tends to assume rather than show love by words and deeds. I loathe the term pew potato because it assumes contentment without activity. We might be seen as pew potatoes if we get complacent about having done enough. That is an ugly image.

 While I do believe in improving our relationship with our Lord I also recognize that He defines the limits. It is not that we will ever stop growing in the Christ. The roots determine the strength of a tree and not the branches.