Engrafted...

James 1:17-21 uses a plant metaphor to show us how God uses His Word in our lives...

VERSE 17
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

The plant imagery begins in this verse. From reading the next few verses, we understand that "every good gift and every perfect gift" refers to God's Word, and it is good, perfect, coming down (like rain) from God the Father of light. God gave His Word (water). God is the constant, unchanging, unshadowed light we need to comprehend, or process, it. Just as plants require light to turn water and nutrients into food, we require God's light to turn the Word of God into nourishment for us. God has given us all that we need for life and godliness.

2 Peter 1:2-4 "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

VERSE 18
"Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

The plant imagery continues in verse 18. God is the sower, His Word is the seed, we who are born again are the firstfruits of His creatures. God sowed the seed of His Word, and we are the new creatures that sprouted.


VERSE 19-20
"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."

As new creatures sown by the Word of God, let us be "swift to hear" (as a plant soaks up water and light) by feeding ourselves on the Word of God. Let us be "slow to speak" (not allowing weeds to spring out of our original corrupt nature, but waiting on the nourishment of God's Word to bring forth fruit). Let us be "slow to wrath" (not producing thorns and stickers by reacting in anger as per our original corrupt nature), but rather producing the peacable fruit that comes from the righteousness of God.


VERSE 21
"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls."

More plant imagery with the mention of the grafting process. God desires to graft His Word into our lives to produce a Christlike fruit. To receive the graft, we must cut something out - our filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness. To receive the graft, we must have meekness - trusting and obeying God's Word instead of rejecting and disobeying God's Word.


Here's what I found out about grafting...

"When you want to combine two plants into one plant, grafting is the way to go. Grafting is one of the most interesting forms of plant propagation. You can use the best part of two plants to create an either stronger or differently shaped variety. This will work with fruit plants, flowering plants or really any type of plant. Grafting is a method of plant propagation widely used in horticulture, where the tissues of one plant are encouraged to fuse with those of another. Grafting is the art of attaching a piece of one plant to another in such a way that the two pieces bond and become one plant."

God asks us to cut out our sinfulness to make room for the graft of His Word. He asks us to receive that graft instead of rejecting it. Only then will we produce the fruit He desires.

What about your life? Has the Word of Truth been sown in your heart? Have you been "born again" by receiving Jesus Christ as your Saviour? As a new creature, are you cutting out the sinfulness of your life to make room for God's graft? Are you receiving that graft by trusting and obeying God's Word? Or are you reject the graft by rejecting and disobeying God's Word? What kind of fruit are you producing? Thorns of wrath? Or fruit of righteousness?

Is the fruit of your life growing below the graft from your old nature (corruption, sinfulness)? Or is the fruit of your life growing above the graft from your new nature (righteousness)?