If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

–Parallel verses:
John‬ ‭15:5-8‬
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

In our house we have kids of all ages. We have boys and girls, and they are at different stages of life. One is in college, one in high school, a couple in elementary school, and one is too young for school. There are interesting smells that come from these kids’ rooms over time. My teenage son has had that foot odor smell, especially after playing a baseball game. And it started in his room, and then the odor permeated throughout the whole house. At times, we resorted to sticking these shoes outside. Of course, there is the classic odor of too many dirty clothes spread out on the floor of a teenager’s room. This too can produce its own lovely smell. Uncleaned bathroom odors are pretty bad too! In contrast, there are the smells of the house that we all enjoy: fresh-baked cookies, many women have a favorite scented-candle, cologne or perfume, and the lovely smell of gun oil (just kidding, this one was for my wife). The point is, whatever scent we let remain in our bedroom or bathroom, if left unchecked, will eventually permeate throughout the whole house.
We can find this principle in our spiritual lives, as well. Paul, in this section of Romans, is expanding the application of the vine and the branches parable of Jesus in John 15. So, what does that passage focus on? It is a process of REMAINING. Jesus says to remain in him, like a branch is in a vine. He says this will result in him remaining in us. The further result is that we will bear much fruit. I see this like the smells in our houses. If we let teenage foot odor, dirty clothes smells, and uncleaned bathroom smells go unchecked in our houses, eventually our whole house will smell really bad. And when we invite people over, they will be repulsed and not want to stay very long. This, in turn, will mean we may not have depth of friendships we normally would have. But if the smells of our house are inviting and the cleanliness is refreshing, guests will look forward to their visits and spend extended time in our homes. What smells remains in our homes matter. It is the same in our hearts. Look at this passage: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. (II Corinthians‬ ‭2:14-15‬)‬‬ Jesus and Paul are saying the same thing. Let the aroma or fragrance of his Holy Spirit remain in our hearts. Do not allow sinful thoughts or behaviors to reign anymore. If we do, we will smell spiritually bad to others. Don’t we want to smell spiritually good? As we focus on the things of God and let his spirit reign in our hearts, then the words of Jesus Christ will remain on our lips, they will become our impulse reaction.

Getting back to the Romans passage, whatever is rooted in our hearts will come out in the branches. Either we will be spiritually fruitful or not, based on what remains in us. If the dough is good, the bread will be good also. Let the Spirit of God nourish our branches so that we can produce good fruit.

And do this instead of comparing yourself to the fruit of other branches. If we are FOCUSED ON GOD’S WILL for us, the greatness he has planned for us, WE WILL THRIVE! If we are looking down on others, we will be driven down in our focus and unfruitful, becoming bitter and spiteful in our ways. Let us remain in Jesus Christ and let the smells of holiness permeate out to a world craving the love, grace, and truth we offer as His followers!

Lord, thank you for you Word and its riches. May it remain in my heart throughout the days and weeks ahead. Teach me to clean out the smelly parts and let your love, grace, and truth reign, truly reign!