Bitter Fruit

My beloved had a vineyard

on a rich and fertile hill.

He plowed the land, cleared its stones,

and planted it with the best vines.

In the middle he built a watchtower

and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks.

Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes,

but the grapes that grew were bitter. Isaiah 5:1-2

WHEN WE’RE AT OUR LOWEST moments as parents, far more aware of our failures than our successes, we need to remember that even our perfect heavenly Father raised wayward children. Actually, all of his children have headed in the wrong direction. In Isaiah 1:2, the Lord says, “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.” So God understands the struggle and disappointment of raising children who rebel.

In Isaiah 5, he speaks of his children as a vineyard that he has prepared, protected, and tended with the expectation of fruit. But the vineyard has yielded bitter grapes. Perhaps, like the Lord himself, you have raised, protected, and tended your child with the expectation of a fruitful and godly life. You’ve waited in anticipation of sweet grapes. But at this point, there is only bitter fruit. We might know intellectually that our children are sinners who need a Savior, but we still struggle with frustration, fear, guilt, disappointment, and discouragement when we see our children make bad choices and act in ways that hurt themselves and others.

When we hear the Lord asking the question in Isaiah 5:4, “What more could I have done for my vineyard that I have not already done?” we know there is, in fact, something more he will do. He will send his beloved Son, who calls himself “the true grapevine” (John 15:1). The true vine will be crushed and will bear fruit. The Son says, “Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit” (John 15:5).

Lord, what ________ needs most is to abide in the vine that is Christ. A branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine. So graft ________ into your vine in a way that she can never be severed. Help me to trust you for the harvest in ________’s life.