Lenten Devotions - Day 28
“Stay joined to me, and I will stay joined to you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it stays joined to the vine, you cannot produce fruit unless you stay joined to me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me.” John 15:4-5
We want Jesus alongside us as we travel life’s uncertainties. We want a strong helper on our side to get us through our conflicts. We crave the comfort of knowing we are not alone, not forgotten, not overlooked, not helpless. In the process, we overlook that the purpose of being joined to Jesus is that we might live according to his example, bearing the same kind of results we see in his own life.
Jesus’ words are words of comfort to disciples who were about to experience great grief, loss, and desperation upon his death. John records these words as part of Jesus’ last message to the twelve before heading to the garden to be betrayed and crucified. The disciples needed to understand and be prepared for what lay ahead. They needed comfort in the face of a crucifixion they did not understand. Yet Jesus’ words paint a message far greater than mere comfort in the face of insecurity, pain, and loss. He is concerned with the ministry they would carry on in face of the cross and after the resurrection.
He had already dealt with the fact that the cross was not abandonment. Now he turns to the fact that the reason they are not being abandoned is that there is a task laid before them. There is a mission for their lives. There is a purpose to our continued living as through our lives Jesus desires to continue to bear the same fruit he bore during the days of his ministry on earth.
Jesus had spent three years among the disciples, teaching about the character of life in the reign of Messiah. John’s account of that teaching focused on Jesus’ words and ministry to various individuals. He had called the religious Nicodemus to a new life of faith beyond the trappings of religious tradition. He had called the Samaritan woman to recognize God’s will to call people of any background to worship in spirit and truth. He had called the Jews to look beyond their religious traditions to find God’s interest in mercy, love, redemption, and restoration. He called them beyond rules and regulations to the way of love—love empowered by forgiveness and grace.
The fruit of his ministry was redemption, love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. It was a series of people who found in his actions that God was more concerned with reconciliation than listing regulations. “I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you.” Live according to my love. Bear the kind of fruit that my love and actions have borne in the lives of others. Let your lives display the character of my love for all those you have seen me love. He went on to say that the greatest love was displayed in dying for another. Then he died for us all. This is the character of fruit our own lives are to bear. It is the identity, purpose, and character of Christ Jesus that should pour forth in our actions, words, and being. Christ living within us is not so much about our comfort, as about embracing a world of people for whom he died.
Love is actually a difficult thing. It is so much more than a romantic notion. To be joined with Christ is to allow the love of Jesus to be expressed in us. Determine where Jesus’ love is not evidenced in your life. Ask Christ to be present there, too.
“Lord, be present in me, even among those I would rather not love or simply ignore.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
We want Jesus alongside us as we travel life’s uncertainties. We want a strong helper on our side to get us through our conflicts. We crave the comfort of knowing we are not alone, not forgotten, not overlooked, not helpless. In the process, we overlook that the purpose of being joined to Jesus is that we might live according to his example, bearing the same kind of results we see in his own life.
Jesus’ words are words of comfort to disciples who were about to experience great grief, loss, and desperation upon his death. John records these words as part of Jesus’ last message to the twelve before heading to the garden to be betrayed and crucified. The disciples needed to understand and be prepared for what lay ahead. They needed comfort in the face of a crucifixion they did not understand. Yet Jesus’ words paint a message far greater than mere comfort in the face of insecurity, pain, and loss. He is concerned with the ministry they would carry on in face of the cross and after the resurrection.
He had already dealt with the fact that the cross was not abandonment. Now he turns to the fact that the reason they are not being abandoned is that there is a task laid before them. There is a mission for their lives. There is a purpose to our continued living as through our lives Jesus desires to continue to bear the same fruit he bore during the days of his ministry on earth.
Jesus had spent three years among the disciples, teaching about the character of life in the reign of Messiah. John’s account of that teaching focused on Jesus’ words and ministry to various individuals. He had called the religious Nicodemus to a new life of faith beyond the trappings of religious tradition. He had called the Samaritan woman to recognize God’s will to call people of any background to worship in spirit and truth. He had called the Jews to look beyond their religious traditions to find God’s interest in mercy, love, redemption, and restoration. He called them beyond rules and regulations to the way of love—love empowered by forgiveness and grace.
The fruit of his ministry was redemption, love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. It was a series of people who found in his actions that God was more concerned with reconciliation than listing regulations. “I have loved you, just as my Father has loved me. So remain faithful to my love for you.” Live according to my love. Bear the kind of fruit that my love and actions have borne in the lives of others. Let your lives display the character of my love for all those you have seen me love. He went on to say that the greatest love was displayed in dying for another. Then he died for us all. This is the character of fruit our own lives are to bear. It is the identity, purpose, and character of Christ Jesus that should pour forth in our actions, words, and being. Christ living within us is not so much about our comfort, as about embracing a world of people for whom he died.
Love is actually a difficult thing. It is so much more than a romantic notion. To be joined with Christ is to allow the love of Jesus to be expressed in us. Determine where Jesus’ love is not evidenced in your life. Ask Christ to be present there, too.
“Lord, be present in me, even among those I would rather not love or simply ignore.”
—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/
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