From Chosen Vine to True Vine: Remaining in Christ in a World Full of Idols

“Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you and tore away the chains of your slavery, but still you said, ‘I will not serve you.’ On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols. But I was the one who planted you, choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best. How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?”
(Jeremiah 2:20–21)

When I read this passage, God may as well be speaking directly to our country—and perhaps especially to Christians today.

Through Jesus Christ, the yoke of our oppression has been broken and the chains of our slavery to sin have been torn away. We have been rescued, redeemed, and set free. And yet, like Israel, we so often turn back. We want freedom without faithfulness. Salvation without servanthood. Grace without surrender.

The original twelve disciples lived with Jesus for three years. They watched Him teach, heal, love, rest, confront sin, and walk in perfect obedience to the Father. They learned The Way not from a distance, but by following closely. Then Jesus ascended to the Father and sent the Advocate—the Holy Spirit—to dwell within them and remind them of everything He taught.

That same Spirit lives in us today.

Jesus promised that those who believe in Him would receive power—the same power that raised Him from the dead—so that we could continue His work in the world (John 14:12). After Pentecost, the disciples lived so much like Jesus that they were mocked and called “little Christs”—Christians.

Today, I wonder if that description still fits us.

When I read Jeremiah’s words about a chosen vine that became wild and corrupt, my mind immediately goes to Jesus’ words in John 15:

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing… When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.”
(John 15:5–8)

In Jeremiah, God refers to Israel—His chosen people—as a carefully planted vine that turned away from Him and bowed to idols. In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes it clear: He is now the True Vine. The only vine of pure stock. And we, as His disciples, are the branches.

We can only bear fruit if we remain in Him.

This is where the connection becomes painfully clear. God’s heartbreak in Jeremiah sounds eerily familiar today. He has saved us through His Son. We believe. We are baptized. We call ourselves Christians. But then we drift. We bow to modern idols—comfort, busyness, success, politics, control, image, money, self. We remain connected in name, but not always in practice.

We want Jesus as Savior, but not always as Lord.

Biblical discipleship—Christ-centered, Spirit-led discipleship—requires abiding. It requires staying connected to the Vine, allowing His life to flow through us so that our lives actually produce fruit: love, obedience, holiness, generosity, and disciples who make disciples.

When we disconnect, we don’t just lose fruit, we lose our witness.

So I can’t help but ask: What would it take for us to turn back? Not just as individuals, but as communities, churches, and a nation? What idols have subtly taken the place of Jesus in our hearts, turning what was once pure into something wild and tangled?

The invitation still stands. Remain in Him. Return to the Vine. Become, once again, true disciples who bring great glory to the Father.