Being Left Behind

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. He will remove every branch in me that does not produce fruit, but whatever produces fruit he will purify, to make its fruit abundant...Stay in me and I in you."

~ John 15:2-4 

It can be heartbreaking to see things change. It can feel like someone has crushed your spirit when people decide to leave.  This is especially so when they do it in a way that leaves the left behind questioning.  How people choose to leave says a lot about their maturity, both spiritual and emotional.  This is especially true in the body of Christ, the Church. When we follow Jesus we are called to embody him, to manifest him and when Jesus left he talked it out.  He was clear and plain spoken about his intentions.  (John 14) 

Some of the most beautiful moments in my ministry have been in those desperately hard conversations about whether to stay or go. When we are attentive to the difficult path that calls us to value one another and to share in transparency, G-d is present and the pain somehow lessens. But we're human.  We get mad. We don't get our way. We throw temper tantrums and we stomp out or we leave quietly, exiting through the back door hoping no one will notice we have departed.  We avoid phone calls. We dodge the questions 'where are you?' 'are you ok?' We pretend like we're sick or that we've just been busy.  Very few of us stay to talk it out. Very few of us seek to adjust or lay our wants down.  Most of us want it our way and many of us use G-d as a scapegoat.  "G-d, told me to leave." As if G-d tosses and turns, here one day, gone the next.  

G-d created us for community.  G-d created us for one another. Sometimes we break that or forget that. Sometimes we run, instead of work it out.  Sometimes we place ourselves above the Kingdom or above the community.  However, the community is sacred - a holy expression of the body of Christ.  It's sacred enough that we should lay ourselves down for it. 

When people leave, no matter the terms, our hearts grieve and we're tempted to let fear set in. We're tempted to chase or to change to make them come back.  It's like a vine having a branch cut off. If we could ask the vine, she would say it hurts. It hurts for the branch that has been cut as well. But with time the wound heals, the roots grow stronger and a new abundant fruit is produced on what remains.  

So let's re-sign, re-imagine what it means to be left behind. When we are left behind, let's look up and anticipate the fruit that's coming.  Let's position ourselves for what G-d can do when we submit to the work of the vinedresser.  Being left behind is not a bad thing. It is a G-d thing! Those left behind get the opportunity to do greater things!