Now let us see something concerning the trees. The first is a vine tree. What does the vine represent? In Judges 9:13 the vine said, “Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men?” In one sense it depicts the sacrificing Christ, the Christ who has sacrificed everything of Himself. But this is not the main point. The main significance is that out of His sacrifice He produced something to cheer God and man—new wine.
Have you had such an experience of Christ? I believe most of us have had some experience of this kind, but probably we have not paid much attention to it. Sometimes under the Lord’s sovereignty we are put into a certain situation in which we must sacrifice ourselves to make others happy and the Lord happy. When in this situation we come to contact the Lord, it is then that we experience Him as the wine-producing vine; we experience Christ as the One who gives cheer to God and cheer to others. Out of this experience we become the vine; we become the producer of something which cheers both man and God. I know you have had this kind of experience. There are different aspects of Christ to meet every need in every situation. Christ is so rich. He is not only the grain of wheat and the loaf of barley, but He is also all the trees, and the first is one which produces happiness for God and happiness for others. If all the brothers and sisters are happy with you, I am sure that to a greater or lesser degree you are experiencing Christ in this aspect; you are experiencing Christ as a wine producer. Christ as the sacrificing lamb lives in you, energizing you to sacrifice yourself for others to bring them cheer.
Several years ago when I was in Taipei, Formosa, a good number of brothers and sisters came and stayed with us to receive some spiritual help. One sister among them was always murmuring, always complaining. When she took a bath, the water was not hot enough; when she ate a meal, the food was too cold. All day long it was “Why this?” and “Why that?” She gave all those who were living with her a headache. No one was happy with her because she simply had not learned to sacrifice herself. She had never learned how to apply the sacrificing Christ to her situation. She herself was not a happy person, and she did not make anyone else happy. She was short of wine. She had no experience of Christ as the wine producer, sacrificing Himself to produce wine for others and for God.
If you experience Christ in this aspect, you yourself will have much wine to drink, and you will be drunken. Then you will be mad with Christ. You should be a person who is drunken and mad with Christ. You should be able to say, “I am so happy, Lord, I am so happy. I don’t know what selfishness means; that is a foreign language to me. Day by day I am drinking the wine of Christ.”
The most happy person is the most unselfish one. The most selfish people are always the most miserable. They are always crying, “Have pity on me; treat me a little better!” They are just like beggars, begging all the time. The sacrificing one is the happy one. How can we sacrifice? We have no energy to sacrifice, for our life is a natural life, a selfish life. Only the life of Christ is a life of sacrifice. If you contact this Christ and experience His sacrificing life, He will energize you, He will strengthen you to sacrifice for God and for others. Then you will be the most happy person; you will be drunken with happiness. This is the experience of Christ as the vine tree. By this experience you will become a vine to others. All those who contact you will be happy with you, and you will bring cheer to God.
What must be done to the grapes to make them wine? They must be pressed. To make God and others happy, you must be pressed. You rejoice to learn that Christ is the barley, the resurrected Christ within you, and that He is enough to meet every situation. You say Hallelujah! But do not say Hallelujah too easily, for immediately following the barley is the vine. The grapes must be pressed to bring cheer to God and man. You too must be pressed. The more you drink the wine of Christ, the more you will realize that you must be pressed. You must be broken in order to produce something in the house of the Lord to make others happy.
You see the order: first the wheat, then the barley, and then the vine. Our experience proves this. I say again, do not just take these things as a doctrine or teaching. Remember the ways whereby you may realize Christ in different aspects and apply Christ in your daily living.