“I have told you these things for a purpose…” (John 15:11 MSG)
Wait, what things?
John 15:1-10 can be condensed to a list.
Jesus the Vine.
His Father is the Vinedresser.
Non fruit-bearing branches are removed entirely.
Fruit-bearing branches are pruned to bear even more fruit.
Christ longs for connection; stay connected.
We can’t grow fruit on our own.
Jesus is the sole source for fruit production.
Separation from Him will wither us.
Connection brings maturity and Kingdom influence.
Abiding is the key to command-keeping and fruit production.
Abiding is easy when we realize it’s all about love.
Jesus shared all of this on purpose: this is the master guide to successful Kingdom contribution. Why did He give us this information?
“…that my joy might be your joy and your joy wholly mature.”
(John 15:11 MSG)
A life of abiding and thus producing is a life of joy! Of course it is, because it’s a life of Christ and joy is the essence of who He is. Could it really be that simple? The entire self-help industry has missed it. The search for joy has been incredibly elusive, one almost wonders if joy is attainable-sustainable at all, but then we all know that one person who just seems to have an inner spring that never runs dry. Perhaps they have discovered the secret that Jesus, our truth-teller has shared. We obtain and retain joy when we maintain connection with Him.
Joy must be the byproduct of trust and trust is only established when we finally believe that Jesus is good, sovereign, and wholly for us. We learn to believe this, to really trust this when we stay connected to Him. Constantly. Without interuption. Our lives are most productive – even amidst regular pruning – when we refuse to let go of our Savior in any and every circumstance.
So how do we abide?
We recognize and avoid temptation as much as possible. Not for legality’s sake, but for relationship’s sake. We value our connection to Christ far above any created thing. (2 Timothy 2:22)
We repent upon discovery. We realize sin’s propensity to sever connectivity. When we recognize sin, we spill our guts immediately and avail ourselves to reconnection. (Matthew 3:8)
We listen at least as much as we talk. Maybe more. Relationship comes from shared conversation. We recognize that the Creator-Sustainer would like opportunity to speak into our life and He has important insights and instruction. (James 1:19)
Abiding is about more than fruit production. It’s about soul instruction. Recall the fruit that we are longing to produce:
“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart and a conviction that basic holiness permeates things and people. we find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” (Galatians 5:22-23 MSG)
Pay attention to that last piece: an abiding life is a fruitful life and the most rare fruit of all is force-less living. What do we mean by that? A life that has let go of personal agenda in exchange for loyal commitment to Christ alone. A fully connected, utterly surrendered life. That’s the supreme objective of abiding.
Let’s finish off our opening scripture:
“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and that your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you. I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father.” (John 15:11-15 MSG)
The agenda of Jesus is love. Of course it is. His Father is love. When we learn to embrace a force-less life, we learn to live a life of love. We learn to reproduce the DNA of our heavenly family.
Lord, teach us to abide. Yes, for joy’s sake but more for the aim of force-less living. We want to once and for all surrender our agenda to You, our Savior-King. Have Your perfect way with our imperfect selves. Teach us to love others as You love others. Amen.