A Parable of the Master Grafter and His Tree
And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, have been grafted in among them, and came to share the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. And if you boast, remember: you do not bear the root, but the root bears you! Rom 11:17-18
My father-in-law is a master grafter. He knows how to bring back to life a tree (Eze 37:4-6). With a sharp knife he cuts the branch that does not produce fruits anymore but leaves those that are good (Rom 11:4-5). Then he cuts a branch from other, wild tree that is to be grafted (Rom 11:17) in order to provoke the tree to bring forth more fruits (Deu 32:21, Rom 11:11-15). The cuts must be smooth and precise in order to make the grafting successful.
After my father-in-law has done this, he treats the cutting surfaces with a binding substance. This is not glue but something that makes the healing of the tree and the new branch as painless as possible. My father-in-law does not reveal to anybody what it is. It is a secret (Rom 11:25, Eph 1:9-10, Eph 3:4-6, Col 1:26-27).
Then comes the most important phase of the grafting process—binding. He gently attaches the new branch in the place of the old one and binds it. The bandage should not be too tight or loose but perfect (Psa 19:7-8, Psa 119:116). If it is too tight the new branch will dry (Mat 13:5-6); if it is loose it will fall off under its own weight (Rom 11:18-21) or at the first wind (Luk 22:31, 1Ti 4:1).
Then my father-in-law waits until the grafted branch begins to give its first fruits. He does not have to wait too long if the newly grafted branch is the proper one. But if it is not, he becomes disappointed with it and has to cut it and graft other one (Rom 11:22-24). But if it is, then he rejoices.
By the way, because the grafting is done according to his initial plan (2Th 2:13) the seam is so invisible that no one can distinguish the new branch from the natural (Eze 47:21-23, Rom 10:12, Gal 3:28). No one but him because it has become one tree (Jos 8:33, Est 8:17, Eph 2:19-22, 1Co 12:12-14).
As a result of all this the whole tree (Rth 1:16-17) comes back to life (Psa 119:37, Rom 11:26-27) and gives good fruits as the master grafter has desired. And because my father-in-law is very loving (Isa 14:1) he cares for the tree much (Rom 11:30-32) for he has had this tree since it had been a seed in the ground (Rom 11:28-29). He does not treat the grafted branch differently but equally with the host tree (Exo 12:48, Lev 19:33-34, Num 9:14, Num 15:15-16). He does not love one over the other (Rom 11:30-32) and yet the new branch is kind a … (Isa 56:1-8).
My father-in-law prunes the tree as needed—the old branches and the new alike (Lev 20:2, Lev 24:16, Num 15:29-31). Pruning is very important in the process of cultivation (Eze 3:20, Eze 18:24, Eze 33:12-13). The more he prunes the more and better fruits the tree gives (Psa 119:71, Pro 13:24, Pro 23:13, Jam 5:19-20). If the tree is not pruned, it become a wild and gives bitter or sour fruits (Mat 7:16) and he has to cut it off (Mat 3:8-10, Mat 7:19, Pro 29:15).
But my Father-of-Law is the Master Grafter and He knows how to do these things (Rom 11:33).