“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” (John 15:4-6). When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they precipitated the event which we call the Fall. After they ate the fruit, their eyes were opened and they came to the conclusion that they were naked. Just as a tree in the last days of Fall denuded of all its foliage might feel exposed and ashamed and bitterly wish that it might cover itself back up with its leaves, so too did Adam and Eve try to cover themselves up with leaves. But even if you can glue or tie fallen leaves back onto the tree, the leaves would only be for show. They are not connected in a vital way to the tree. There would be no nutrients flowing from the roots to the leaves, and no energy flowing from the leaves to the rest of the tree. The leaves would just continue to wither and crumble and have to be replaced with more and more dead leaves which will only follow the same path of decay. In their dismay at having transgressed and fallen and having their nakedness and shame exposed to the world, Adam and Eve, by trying to cover themselves up with dead and fallen leaves, sought to give the appearance that everything was still OK. They were still worthy plants in the Garden of Eden that had not gone through a Fall but even now had their leaves intact. But this is not God's plan. God would no more rebuke Adam and Eve for their nakedness after their Fall than He would rebuke a tree for its nakedness after its fall. Leaves fall from trees. It's a natural part of life. There is no use trying to glue them back on and pretend like the Fall has not happened. As long as the branches remain connected to the roots, they can weather the harsh winters and be covered once more in both leaves and fruit. Christ is the true vine and we are His branches. He knows when our leaves fall off because those leaves are as much a part of Him as we are, because leaf and branch and root are all part of the same vine. He will not toss us away just because we've been through a Fall and we are stripped naked of all our leaves. He will feed us His strength and His love in all of the seasons of our lives. We are valuable branches of the one true vine whether we are naked or bursting with leaves and bent low with fruit. If we find ourselves bereft of our leaves, let us abide in the Lord and refuse to feel shame, but instead wait with patience and hope for spring and our life-giving leaves to come again.
