Council Grove Christian Church

20 August, in the Year of our Lord 2025
 
 
Servants of God,

“Catch the foxes^e for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom.”
-Song of Solomon 2:15

 
I am always amazed at how the Holy Spirit weaves the webs of the Christian life. Recently I have been preparing to teach on the Song of Solomon for my Sunday School class. This morning, as part of our morning devotional time together, Marcia and I did a prayer time that involved a responsive reading of John 15. As most of you are well aware, John 15 is the vine and branches chapter. It came to my mind that too often I do not give enough attention to the need to consciously abide in Christ. Then I was convicted that it is not the big things of life that interrupt my abiding; it is the little foxes that spoil the vine.
 
Life is mostly little things—mostly! Of course the big things can crash into our lives, but for most of us, most of the time, life is a collection of little things. Dr. John Gottman, a student of marriage and what makes for stable and satisfying marriage, teaches that married life is a series of small interactions that he called “bids for attention.” Over a long period of time these small interactions tend to go either positively or negatively. Given enough time, these tiny interactions dictate the direction of the marriage. The great danger for most married couples is failure to consistently value the smallest of interactions. As Solomon says, it is the little foxes that spoil the vine.
 
The Lord Jesus taught using metaphor and parable much of the time. The metaphor of the vine and the branches predates Jesus. Jesus is, no doubt, alluding to Psalm 80 when he speaks of himself as the “true vine.” Psalm 80 pictures the nation of Israel as a vine clipping taken from Egypt and planted in fertile soil in Caanan—the promised land. For a while it was abundantly fruitful but then, little by little, Israel slipped into idolatry and God brought judgment. It was not until Jesus came as the promised messiah that the true vine appeared.
 
John 15 teaches that the believer’s solid connection to the true vine is essential to bearing fruit for God. That fruit bearing includes prayer. We cannot pray as we ought without true connection to Jesus. The phrase “in Christ” reminds Christians that our spiritual life is dependent on our legitimate and healthy connection to Jesus. Jesus makes it clear that the believer’s ability to bear fruit in his kingdom is dependent upon a life-giving connection to him.
 
For most Christians, seasons of spiritual depression or lack of fruitfulness occurs. When it does, we must examine ourselves. More than likely our drifting away from Jesus happens a little at a time. First, we slack off a little. Then, we neglect a little. Eventually, we find our spiritual vigor has reduced and our excuses have increased. The way back to robust faith and fruitfulness, of course, comes via repentance and the consistent practice of fighting off the little foxes.
 
The great preacher Spurgeon said “…a great sin cannot destroy a Christian but a little sin can make him miserable.” For most Christians the most important thing we can do is to be faithful in the smallest issues of life and stay vigilant lest we drift away from our first love of Jesus. Let us all examine ourselves daily and by God’s grace work to be faithful so we can be fruitful in Christ’s kingdom.
 
Blessings,
 
Pastor John

Coram Deo