Read John 15 – I am the Vine – this is one of my favorite passages in the Bible maybe because I am French and my grandparents use to make wine! I spoke this year at an event about Terroir. It’s a French word for place. Here’s a partial Wikipedia definition: Terroir can be very loosely translated as “a sense of place,” which is embodied in certain characteristic qualities, the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the production of the product. Terroir is often italicized in English writing to show that it is a French loanword.
Where’s the terrior that God has you in right now? Is He pruning you for what He wants you to do and not necessarily what you want to do? Is He grafting you into His master vine – plan? The cut from the old may be harsh and painful but the wine that will eventually come from it is powerful and rich.
God has accepted you into His love just as you are, what you know, and the terroir you are in. It is the sum total of where you have been and where you are right now, but God has a new place for you and not knowing where that place is is OK. We just have to remember He is in control and to make sure we are feeding, and watering our souls so that they grow properly. We have to rely on the Master Vintner.
It’s interesting, too, if you continue to study how wine is made. At the time of harvest and the cutting of the fruit, the master takes fruit from different places around his field to blend the wine. Grapes come from the different places around the field and are put into barrels to form a batch. Some fruit comes from the hills, some from the valleys, some from the east side of the plant and some from the west side. But it is all blended together by the master vintner into that prize winning bottle. The master vintner knows that grapes taste differently and have different qualities depending on where they are grown.
We all come from different places into His Kingdom but are grown for different purposes. Ephesians 4 gives us another perspective on how we are used once He has allowed us to flourish and where He can use us to bring truth and joy. Phil Cooke’s book, ONE BIG THING: Discovering What You Were Born To Do, http://www.amazon.com/dp/159555484X/ can also give you some practical thoughts on this subject.
Where is your terroir for 2014? What are your characteristics that will be effected by your local environment and can have an effect your productions and projects? Grow where His Joy will be lifted?
