16You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you. 17This is
My command: Love each other. (John 15:16-17, NIV) John 15 is one of my favorite Scripture passages. In this passage, Jesus is calling us to bear “fruit – more fruitful – much fruit” (John 15:2, 15:5). Jesus’ desire is for us to produce much fruit. Jesus’s mission statement for us, in John 15:16-17, builds on His earlier metaphors in John 15 about the pruning of plants in order that they can bear “fruit – more fruitful – much fruit.” Now, I do not have a green thumb, as a matter of fact, I have the opposite of whatever a green thumb is. Plants seem to die under my care. But this much I know. I know that in order for a plant to produce fruit most efficiently, the branches must be pruned and cut back. I don’t know how plants feel about this, but I know – from personal experience – that the pruning people experience in order to bear fruit for the Kingdom can be painful. But pruning is not enough. The plant still needs to be watered and nourished, and so Jesus moves on to our need to abide in the vine (John 15:4-6). Again, I am no gardener, but I know that a branch or a flower cut from a tree or bush – though you may help it along for a while by putting it in a vase of water – will eventually wither and die. So, it is with people. We may be able to sit around in a vase of (metaphorical) water for a while, subsisting on memories and old habits, but eventually, we need to return to the Source. The reason we go through the pruning, the watering and the nourishing, the reason we need to keep drawing on Jesus’s life and power, is because He has a job for us to do. We are not His servants, but His friends (John 15:12-15). And as His friends, He commissions us to go bear fruit that will last: “fruit – more fruitful – much fruit.” And as His friends, He welcomes us with arms open wide. Many years ago, I read a passage from Henri De Tournville's classic book, “Letters of Direction.” It’s worth repeating here as we contemplate the relationship between the branches and the Vine: The essence of the matter is that our Lord loves you dearly......Come then, show a little deference to our Lord and allow Him to go first. Let Him love you a great deal, a very great deal, long before you have succeeded in loving Him, even a little, as you would wish to love Him. That is all I ask of you, and all our Lord asks of you. On this Mother’s Day, as we remember our moms who have pruned, watered and nurtured us so that we could bear much fruit, let us go forward willing to be pruned, rooted and refreshed in the Source, and ready to bear fruit that the world needs so badly. Where does Jesus need to prune you further? Where can you abide more fully in the Vine? Lord Jesus, thank You for loving me as Your friend. Thank You for pruning me so that I can bear fruit for You and carry the Gospel to all those whom You love, everywhere. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen. Comments are closed.
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