Turning Grapes into Wine

Spent the weekend in Napa wine country.  One of the high points was a tour of the wine making process at Rutherford Winery.  The grapes take a long and pampered route before they get bottled as wine.  After painstaking preparations, they settle into large barrels where they are given time to work their magic.  What I found interesting is that after spending years in these barrels blossoming, expanding and developing into drink-ready condition, the grapes are very unhappy to be squeezed into the glass bottles that are sold to consumers.  A good winery gives the newly bottled wine a chance to stretch out and burgeon within the confines of its new home before it is declared drink worthy.

The process of maturing grapes into wine reminded me of the process of maturing in my faith, especially the part about being squeezed into a narrow bottle.  I was plucked from vine when God's love invited me into relationship with Him.  Within the safety of His big barrel arms, He peeled away my protective exterior and nurtured my growth to the point where I am being  squeezed into the bottle and refined.  And having traveled down that narrow spout, I am in the process of pushing and pulling and settling into the beautiful confines of His good life for me.

The problem with the glass walls is that I can look out and see what the world has to offer, and sometimes I want to break out.  The beauty of the glass walls is that when I allow God to refine me like fine wine, the life He offers is highly desirable not just for me but to those who see His work in me.  He is an amazing wine maker but only to those grapes who allow Him to do the work that only He is capable of doing in those who know and love Him.

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Happy Valentine's Day!  May your love abound for others and may you be greatly loved in return.