v2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (italics mine)
As you might have noticed from some previous posts, God has really been showing me what radical Christianity is like. This verse tells me that if I am not bearing fruit, then I will be removed from Jesus. If we go further in this passage, Jesus tells us how to bear fruit. In verse 5 it says
v5 If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
This tells me that I must stay in close relationship with Jesus to be able to bear fruit. Jesus goes on to tell us how to remain in him:
v10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,
This tells me that to remain in Him, I must obey his commands. He then tells us what his command is in verse 13
v13 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
I pondered on this last part for a while. "Love each other" Jesus was speaking to his disciples in this passage. Does this mean that we are only to love other disciples/Christians? I don't think so. The key is the last part of the verse - "as I have loved you" Jesus loved us BEFORE we became disciples. If we are to love others as Jesus loved us, then we must love ALL people.
But how exactly are we to love others? Once again, Jesus does not let us down. He says
v13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Now, I don't think Jesus necessarily means that we must all physically die for others (though there are specific times/circumstances where I do believe this to be true). I think Jesus means that we must die to self. In other words, we must be willing to think of others FIRST. Jesus was constantly giving of himself to others during his ministry. He didn't own a house, rent an apartment, or lease a condo. He depended on the goodness of others to provide shelter for him. Jesus didn't own a car :-) , or a horse, or even a donkey. He either walked or on rare occasion, borrowed a donkey. I'm sure he didn't have a large wardrobe (it would have been too much to carry everywhere!).
If I am to pattern my life after Jesus and love others, I have a responsibility to use the resources he has provided to me for HIM. In some areas, I'm doing OK. I need(?) a "new" car. The one I have - a 1996 with 106k miles on it - leaks when it rains. Not good when you live where it rains nearly every day in the summer. I have been looking for a "new" car and having a debate with my dad about how much I should spend. He thinks I should spend around $10K or more and get a newer (less than 5 yrs old) car. I am convinced that I can spend between $5K and $8K and get a solid reliable, dependable car without many miles. I don't HAVE to have the car this week. I can wait - and wait and pray I will.
There are other areas where I need work - like cleaning out all the useless "stuff" in our house. I honestly have started this process (albeit very slowly), but without much success (anyone want to buy a 50 gal fish tank?) I wonder if God wants us to save all of this stuff for our yearly neighborhood Garage sale and sell it then? Maybe all the proceeds should go to JA for his airfare to China. I don't know. But at least I'm now thinking about these things. If I'm not thinking about it - nothing will get done.
No comments:
Post a Comment