Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Scripture

“He expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.” Isaiah 5:2c

Reflections

Winemaking can be a great hobby.  The ground is prepared.  Seeds are planted.  The seeds grow to become vines with branches.  The branches are pruned and produce grapes.  The grapes are gathered and made into wine.  What delight can be found in a fine wine!

If the vines do not produce as they were intended, it can be an incredible disappointment.  All that work, hope, and expectation—for nothing.  This was how it was with God and the people of Israel.  God took great delight in them.  He had high hopes that something would come of them.  Instead, nothing worthwhile came from them.

God has great hopes for each of us.  He hopes that there would be something to show for our lives.  His hopes may not come to fruition in some.  People may be self-serving and stubborn, stuck on doing things their own way.  Yet, those who see his way and follow in it are the ones who produce fruit.

God’s ways are not offered only to a select group, the people of Israel.  His ways are for anyone who desires to be a part of his vineyard, becoming what we were intended to become, bearing fruit.

When we become what God had intended us to become, we discover the joy of a fruitful life.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your vineyard.  Help me to heed your ways, bearing fruit.  May my life count for something good.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Full Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7