Sustained by Christ

Romans 11:18 ESV

“do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”

“Get up, move faster.” This is one of my favorite movie quotes. It comes when the hero has just been beaten. He is laying in the river unsure of what to do. His friend from the bank gives him that advice. The reality is he was working hard, he was moving fast, and all his best efforts weren’t enough to win the day. They weren’t enough to accomplish all that he wanted to accomplish.

The section of the book of Romans that is quoted above was intended to help the Gentiles not look down on the nation of Israel because they couldn’t see what is so blatantly obvious, that Jesus is the Christ. The Gentiles had nothing to boast over anyone. They only had someone to boast in. They had not broken branches off, they had not engrafted themselves, and they were not sustaining themselves. It was all Gods work and it was for their blessing, and his glory. How then could they boast?

So often, in our quest for celebrity, we give credit to revivalists, evangelists, and pastors for the work God has done. George Whitfield skill as a traveling evangelist in England and the English Colonies in the Americas moved men and nations to tremble before their God and seek him. Yet, he would be the first to say, that God is the one who builds his church, he was but the means chosen to accomplish that end. As God acted upon him, giving him the skill and physical strength to preach to twenty-five thousand outdoors, we can thank Ben Franklin for scientifically verifying that ability! Despite this it is not men that hold the church up. Men do not provide for it nor do men sustain it. Men and woman comprise it.

The root is that which brings nourishment to the vine. The root is that which anchors the vine in the midst of the storm. It is a temptation to start to think that we need to “get up, move faster” when events start going directions we don’t want, and when this fails or succeeds, to attribute to ourselves the glory or the blame. Yet, the branches do not support the root. We, are called to run the race as those who wish to win the prize, but not as those who are t bare the weight of it all. Run well, move fast, work hard, and rest in the reality that it was all done for the Glory of God, not for your own glory. Then whether success or failure, from this worlds perspective, awaits you, God will give you the crown for being faithful.

Jeremiah was not a failed prophet because the people failed to change. Josiah was not a failed king because they people immediately turned from God on his departure. They are sterling examples of giving all and trusting the root to sustain or cut off branches. This is our call. We work hard enduring outrageous slanders and a sea of troubles, spreading the word of God’s wrath, love, and forgiveness. Spreading the News of Christs Death, burial, resurrection, and future coming. But he is the one that calls. He is the one that sustains his church. He is the one that moves men’s hearts. We must petition our King that all this will take place, and be content, in the end if we are told, “My grace is sufficient for you” or “you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:23)

CORAM DEO