I have numerous oak trees on my property. The one visible from my bedroom window is a candidate for the English Ivy. I thought I had destroyed them all last winter but I still see a good bit of it. To destroy this ivy all you need do is cut the vine at the base of the tree. The effects are immediate and remind me of of the "True Vine" parable spoken in John (except that the English Ivy does not produce fruit)...
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. - John 15
Cutting the vine and seeing how quickly it dies keeps me in mind of the importance of remaining in Christ. If we remain connected to the true vine we will produce fruit. If, for whatever reason, we become severed from the vine the effects are immediate. In which I would believe that prayer and time with God things of great importance. Here is a photo of the severed ivy vine, in which was only like a half inch thick.
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. - John 15
Cutting the vine and seeing how quickly it dies keeps me in mind of the importance of remaining in Christ. If we remain connected to the true vine we will produce fruit. If, for whatever reason, we become severed from the vine the effects are immediate. In which I would believe that prayer and time with God things of great importance. Here is a photo of the severed ivy vine, in which was only like a half inch thick.