Fruitful in Affliction

Most Christians know the basics of Joseph’s story in the second half of Genesis—favored by his father; sold into slavery by his brothers; jailed because of false allegations; and eventually freed and raised to second in command in Egypt. In the years leading up to the famine throughout the land, we learn that Joseph and his wife had two sons.

“Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. ‘For,’ he said, ‘God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.’ The name of the second he called Ephraim, ‘For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction’” (Gen. 41:51-52).

It seems that Joseph had a perspective that many of us could learn from. He gave God the glory for the blessings he had received while at the same time recognizing that difficult times are part of God’s purposes for us. We see this reiterated in Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Somehow, I can’t imagine Joseph ever being called a “desperate man,” even when he was sitting in jail for no good reason. Throughout it all, he remained faithful and obedient to God. “The keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners… because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed” (Gen. 39:22-23). It wasn’t just that God worked through Joseph, but that Joseph was consciously dwelling in God’s presence and doing His will.

Often when we face affliction, we may think that God has left us and we just have to wait and hope for His return. But Joseph is a reminder that God is still present and working, and our job is to be faithfully obedient.

We all encounter difficulties and suffering of various kinds as we live in this broken world. We are all literally living in the land of our affliction until Jesus returns to make all things right and to recreate the world in perfection. The question is whether our hardship points us to God or draws us away from Him. Are we bearing fruit in this land or are we drying up just hoping for something to change?

Perhaps we need to remember what God considers fruitful living, since most of us won’t be involved in saving our nation from famine. Fruitfulness is:

• Repenting of sin and pursuing sanctification. “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matt. 3:8). “The fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life” (Rom. 6:22).
• Speaking words that build others up in faith and love. “The tree is known by its fruit… The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good… I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:33, 35-37).
• Obeying what we know to be true in Scripture. “Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing… By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples… If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love… This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:5, 8, 10, 12)
• Pursuing the good works set before us. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). “Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true” (Eph. 5:8-9).

That might look like: raising your children in a Gospel-centered home; working to the best of your ability in your career; trusting God to provide when you have needs; praying for wisdom in trying times; pointing others to Christ as your strength in suffering, etc. As I mentioned in my last post, the fruit of the Spirit looks a little different in each person’s life. Rather than getting discouraged because “I’m not doing anything outstanding,” we should simply ask, “Am I endeavoring, by God’s grace, to do all that I believe God has set before me at this particular time?” God asks nothing more than that.

“Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10).

© 2022 Dawn Rutan text and picture. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Fruitful Living

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV).

When this Scripture was read in our church service Sunday morning, it occurred to me that the fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of Christlikeness. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome: “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). We display the fruit of the Spirit as we are conformed to the image of Christ. Consider how each aspect of the fruit was exhibited in the life of Christ. This is just a small sampling. 

Love
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13).

“But I say to you who hear, ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you’” (Luke 6:27).

 
Joy
“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). 

Peace
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

“As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’” (Luke 24:36). 

Patience
“And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come’” (John 2:4).

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know Me, Philip? Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”?’” (John 14:9). 

Kindness
“And behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.’ And Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed” (Matthew 8:2-3).

“Jesus turned, and seeing her He said, ‘Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.’ And instantly the woman was made well” (Matthew 9:22). 

Goodness
“And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone’” (Luke 18:19).

“Jesus answered [the Jews], ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone Me?’” (John 10:30). 

Faithfulness
“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does His works” (John 14:10).

“I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do” (John 17:4). 

Gentleness
“Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30).

“And they were bringing children to Him that He might touch them… And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them” (Mark 10:13, 16). 

Self-Control
“He saved others; let Him save Himself… ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’” (Luke 23:35, 37).

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil… ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”’” (Matthew 4:1, 4).

*** 

I pray that we’ll see the increasing fruit of Christlikeness in our lives.

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). 

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Hearts Revealed

Once in a while I like to read The Message paraphrase of the Bible. These verses jumped out at me:

“It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government” (1 Peter 2:15-17).

Some of the actions we’ve seen this year make me wonder how many so-called Christians have actually read the Bible and know that there are verses like this in there. But then I saw Christianity Today’s article that there’s been a 5% drop in daily Bible reading among Americans in recent months. They speculate on lack of time and lack of in-person connection with the church during the pandemic. While that may be true in some cases, I think there is a more fundamental problem—a lot of people who call themselves Christians have no real interest in God or the Bible. If they are only reading the Bible or attending church out of guilt, peer pressure, or habit, the pandemic has not really changed their hearts but revealed them.

Many churches witnessed a temporary increase in engagement when we all went online at the start of the pandemic. Now the numbers are lower in many cases. And if you don’t count the people who are watching multiple church services online every Sunday, I suspect that most churches have seen an overall decrease in participation. The faithful Christians have remained faithful while many of the nominal Christians have dropped off the radar. I’ve never understood how a church can report more members than active members, and the gap between the two numbers is getting wider.

Although we may bemoan the statistics when this season is past, I don’t think it is necessarily a bad thing. Jesus recognized that there would be weeds growing among the wheat up until the harvest time (Matthew 13:24-30). He warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 7:21 ESV). It may take a pandemic to reveal which church members are actually followers of Jesus Christ and which ones are simply along for the ride. Pastors and leaders need to be able to see who are the true disciples of Christ and who are the ones still in need of salvation.

And church members themselves need to realize if they are among those whose hearts are not engaged with God. Some may be thinking, “You know, I really don’t believe this stuff and I don’t care about it,” and in their departure we need to be praying for God to change their hearts. Others may be realizing they’ve drifted away from their first love but they want to return, and so we welcome them back and pray for God’s continued work.

Jesus said, “A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matt. 7:18-20). All too often, it seems like we’ve accepted participation in church activities as the only evidence needed of good fruit, even if it has only been artificial fruit. And now that church activities are curtailed, we’re seeing that some people have never actually borne any fruit because they are not connected to Jesus Christ in a life-giving way.

So, to return to where I started, are we bearing the fruit of good works that point to God as our source of life and hope, and silences the ignorant talk of unbelievers? Are we truly living as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9-10)? If not, we need to check our hearts.

“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? …Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:1-19).

© 2020 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

Me Me Me

I read this the other day and found it to be quite true:

“To most people the greatest persons in the universe are themselves. Their lives are made up of endless variations on the word ‘me.’ What do people think of ME? How will thing affect ME? Will this make ME happy? Do people value ME as they should? …Have we not all, in our own experience, discovered that every endeavor that has ME as its center has no profit in it? You have set your heart, perhaps, on procuring something for the benefit or pleasure of your own great big ME, but when you have secured it, this ungrateful ME has refused to be satisfied and has turned away in weariness and disgust from what it has cost you so much to procure. Or you have labored to have the claims of this ME recognized by those around you and have reared with great pains and effort a high pinnacle on which you have seated yourself to be admired by all beholders. And right at the critical moment, the pinnacle has tottered over, and your glorious ME has fallen into the dust, and contempt instead of honor, has become its portion. Never, under any circumstances has it in the end paid you to try and exalt your great exacting ME, for always, sooner or later, it has all proved to be nothing but ‘vanity and vexation of spirit’ (Eccl. 2:11)” (God Is Enough, Hannah Whitall Smith, 132-133).

ME is an exacting taskmaster, never pleased for more than a few seconds. If your employer treated you the same way, would you not soon quit? Why try to please someone who just sneers and knocks you down every time? Why subject yourself to repeated frustration? And yet we do. “Maybe this time I’ll get everything just right and can enjoy success.” On the other hand:

“Jesus challenges us to forgive everyone we know and even those we don’t know and to be very careful not to forget even one against whom we harbor ill will. Right now someone exists who has disappointed and offended us, someone with whom we are continually displeased and with whom we are more impatient, irritated, unforgiving, and spiteful than we would dare be with anyone else. That person is ourselves. We are so often fed up with ourselves. We’re sick of our own mediocrity, revolted by our own inconsistency, bored by our own monotony. We would never judge any other of God’s children with the savage self-condemnation with which we crush ourselves. We must be patient, gentle, and compassionate with ourselves in the same way we try to love our neighbor” (The Signature of Jesus, Brennan Manning, 174).

We can either keep trying to perfect ourselves and build ourselves up despite constant failure, or we can accept God’s love and forgiveness and trust Him to do what only He can do. I find it interesting that the Apostle Paul’s list of the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) all have self at the center: “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these” (ESV). But it could reasonably be argued that the Fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23) is all focused on God and others: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” If we attempt to produce that fruit while focusing on self, it will be imitation fruit at best, quick to fall to the ground. Even self-control has to come from the work of the Spirit, not from self-effort. Only when we stop trying to grow our own fruit can the Spirit grow His Fruit in us. When we take our eyes off ourselves and our accomplishments and failures, then we can watch and see what God will do.

It’s time to dethrone ME and recognize that God is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and He is making all things new.

“Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:2-3).

  

© 2018 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Going Down

As often happens, several authors have spoken into my life on related subjects within the past few days. It started as I was reading The Fruitful Life, by Jerry Bridges, which talks about the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). He reminded me that the fruit is not something we can grow on our own, but requires God’s work in us, and as such we have to humbly submit to God’s will and God’s ways for this to happen. He writes:

“Humility in every area of life, in every relationship with other people, begins with a right concept of God as the One who is infinite and eternal in His majesty and holiness. We are to humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, approaching every relationship and every circumstance in reference to him… When we are conscious of our (sinful) creature relationship to an infinitely majestic and holy God, we will not wish to selfishly compare ourselves with others. And to the extent that our awareness of our lowly place before God is an abiding one, we will avoid the temptations of pride and competition.”

Soon after that I read this article by John Piper in which he says:

“Another way of embracing [God’s sovereignty] is to see that it is taught in the Scriptures and to see some of its implications and to admit that this is in fact the truth that the Bible teaches, but to embrace it with a heart that’s not fully docile or teachable or submissive to the whole counsel of God in Scripture. In other words, a person may be riveted on the doctrine of sovereignty while either being neglectful of other important biblical teachings, or maybe even indifferent to those other teachings or resistant to them.”

A humble heart recognizes that God is sovereign and willingly submits to all that means for each of us. I confess that there are areas in my own life where my submission is reluctantly and grudgingly given. I see that God is sovereign over all His creation, but I don’t particularly like the way He arranges some things. So then today I was reading Battle Ready, by Steve Farrar. He writes:

“Lon [Solomon]’s definition: ‘Brokenness is the process by which God dislodges our self-life and teaches us to rely upon him alone in every facet of our lives. Brokenness is the process whereby God crushes all our self-dependence and, in its place, substitutes an utter dependence on God and God alone in every area of our lives… Through brokenness, God replaces our self-will with a surrender to the will and timing of God, tempering our human zeal with a deep waiting upon God.’… 

“God doesn’t meet our demands to explain Himself. God doesn’t submit Himself to our cross-examinations. He tells us that He is good and righteous, and then asks us to trust Him.”

Finally, this afternoon I visited a friend in a rehab center for physical therapy. He was quick to say, “God is able take care of this, but even if He doesn’t, He’s still God.”

When society (and sometimes even preachers) tell us, “You deserve health and wealth; you’re entitled to recognition and power; you are in control of your destiny;” God has something different to say. He tells us: “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed… Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:12-13, 19 ESV, italics added). God in His sovereignty does not decree lives of comfort, power, and success for His children. Instead we should expect lives that continually reveal our weakness and inability so that He may be glorified as we humbly serve Him.

I was reminded of a line from the end of Hinds’ Feet on High Places:

“From the heights we leap and flow
To the valleys down below,
Sweetest urge and sweetest will,
To go lower, lower still.”

That has been the lesson for me this week, and probably for a long time to come—faithfulness to God is not found in striving for success, achievement, and recognition, but humility; not in entitlement, but service.

“He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. 

Fruitful Growth

A recent issue of Christianity Today included the article “The Science of Sinning Less” which cites various studies on self-control. The author states, “One key recent discovery is that self-control is an exhaustible but buildable resource.” Like a muscle, self-control that is exercised regularly becomes stronger. I’m not sure that’s really a new discovery, but there is truth there. And while that is good to know, it doesn’t address the fact that Scripture talks about self-control not just as self-effort but as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). That led me on a search for a description of biblical self-control and how it should work. Here are some of the quotes I found:

David Mathis wrote,

“True self-control is a gift from above, produced in and through us by the Holy Spirit. Until we own that it is received from outside ourselves, rather than whipped up from within, the effort we give to control our own selves will redound to our praise, rather than God’s… Ultimately, our controlling ourselves is about being controlled by Christ. When ‘the love of Christ controls us’ (2 Corinthians 5:14), when we embrace the truth that he is our sovereign, and God has ‘left nothing outside his control’ (Hebrews 2:8), we can bask in the freedom that we need not muster our own strength to exercise self-control, but we can find strength in the strength of another.”

John Piper put it this way:

“The key to a transformed mind is the steady gaze at the glory of Jesus Christ. For that to happen, we need a double work from the Holy Spirit… We need the Holy Spirit to work from the outside in by putting before us Christ-exalting truth in the gospel, and we need the Holy Spirit to work from the inside out by humbling our hard hearts. Both have to happen.”

One particularly helpful article was written by Ed Welch in The Journal of Biblical Counseling. He wrote:

“[Genuine] self-control… is not the same as relying on yourself and working up the willpower to control yourself. Instead, self-control is a gift of the Holy Spirit, through faith in Jesus Christ. It is a side effect of the fear of the Lord… The real prize is Christ Himself. So, with Jesus in view, we do those things that are important, true, and good, rather than those things that feel urgent but are ungodly… Although our cravings go deep, they are no match for the Spirit of the living God. This, of course, does not mean that the battle is over and we can ‘let go and let God.’ Rather, it means that we are now empowered to engage in the battle. As the Hebrews were promised the land, but had to take it by force, one town at a time, so we are promised the gift of self-control, yet we also must take it by force. Only the grace of God takes self-control out of the realm of hopeless self-reformation into that of great confidence that we can be transformed people.”

For practical application, Welch suggests:

“[The] desire for self-control must be accompanied by a plan… It is one thing to make a resolution; it is something completely different to repent diligently, seek counsel, and, in concert with others, develop a plan that is concrete and Christ-centered. The heart of any plan, of course, must be Jesus Christ. Self-control is like any other feature of wisdom in that it is learned by contemplating a person… Rather than give us twelve steps on which to rely, he gives us a Person to know. As Jesus is known and exalted among us, you will notice that self-control becomes more obvious. The double cure for sin is the foundation for all change. That is, in the gospel, we have been released from both the condemnation and the power of sin.”

As we contemplate Jesus Christ, His soon return, and the surpassing worth of knowing Him, may we find His fruit steadily increasing within our lives.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14 ESV).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Blossoms Through Brokenness

I don’t usually share my art, but I wanted to make a couple comments on these two recent drawings. These were inspired by a question from the Chase Bible study by Jennie Allen asking what God is looking for in us and what He is chasing after in us. It occurred to me that God is looking for growth to come from our wounded hearts. He rarely waits until our wounds have healed completely before He uses them for His good purposes. Indeed He can even bring fruitfulness out of brokenness.

That can be a bit of a challenge when we’re hurting and looking for healing and relief. That’s not always God’s first priority with our pain. He allows difficulty in our lives not to disable us, but to make us useful to His kingdom for His glory.

After drawing these, I was reminded of a scene in the allegory Hinds’Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. The main character, whose name started out as Much-Afraid, was renamed Grace and Glory, after which the Shepherd instructed her “Open your heart and let us see what is there:”

“At his word she laid bare her heart, and out came the sweetest perfume she had ever breathed and filled all the air around them with its fragrance. There in her heart was a plant whose shape and form could not be seen because it was covered all over with pure white, almost transparent blooms, from which the fragrance poured forth. 

“Grace and Glory gave a little gasp of wonder and thankfulness. ‘How did it get there, my Lord and King?’ she exclaimed.

“‘Why, I planted it there myself,’ was his laughing answer. ‘Surely you remember down there by the sheep pool in the Valley of Humiliation, on the day that you promised to go with me to the High Places. It is the flower from the thorn-shaped seed.’”

Those thorns that pierce our hearts now may one day blossom into something beautiful for God’s glory, and that day may come sooner than we think. The fragrance of the blooms may be found in remaining faithful (1 Peter 1:6-7), enduring suffering (1 Peter 2:19), comforting others (2 Corinthians 1:3-4), praying for others (Revelation 8:3), doing good (Galatians 6:9), growing in grace (2 Peter 3:18), sanctification (1 Corinthians 6:11), and scores of other ways. Whenever we let our wounds drive us closer to God those seeds start to grow. Just as a broken bone is stimulated to grow in order to mend itself, a broken heart is enabled to grow in love for others.

Even though we may not see the growth ourselves, God knows, and we have the assurance that one day “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

Images copyright © 2015 Dawn Rutan. All rights reserved.

Working or Abiding?

I’ve written before both about abiding in Christ and the Fruit of the Spirit, but I had kind of an “Aha” moment recently as I started reading True Community by Jerry Bridges. Sometimes just a simple rephrasing makes an old truth more clear. He quotes Robert Haldane’s Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans:

“It is impossible that the streams can be dried up when the fountain continues to flow, and it is equally impossible for the members not to share in the same holiness which dwells so abundantly in the Head. As the branch, when united to the living vine, necessarily partakes of its life and fatness, so the sinner, when united to Christ, must receive an abundant supply of sanctifying grace out of His immeasurable fullness.”

Or as John recorded Jesus saying, “I am the Vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (15:5 ESV).

I don’t think I’d considered before the fact that the branches must bear fruit if they are attached to the Vine. It is now part of our new nature, the life blood flowing in us, to bear the fruit that the Vine creates. (However, it is possible for people to only look like they are attached to the Vine and not really be saved and thus not bear fruit.) Those who are attached will be compelled to bear fruit. That may not be their own priority to begin with, but the Vinedresser will keep pruning away all lesser desires.

I really have no choice in whether I will bear fruit or what that fruit will look like. All of that is determined by my Father. I also can’t make it happen any faster or through some easier process. (I’m not sure I can even slow it down if God has His way.) It will grow when and how He desires. It is rather a relief to know He’s got it all in hand. I am confident that I am indeed connected to the life of the Vine because of what He has already done in and through me in recent months and years. And that knowledge leads to further confidence that He will complete His fruit-bearing work in me and gives me greater faith and hope.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think I’ve always tried to make abiding too complicated, too much my own work. The fact is, I am in the Vine and nothing can now change that. Fruit is both the proof of what God has done to graft me in and the ongoing evidence of what He is doing. It has nothing to do with how good I am at being a branch. If it depended on me, I’d be lopping myself off the Vine every day. To quote Dr. Bob Mayer’s message in our office chapel service today, “Think how liberating that can be—God’s work does not depend on you… Nothing happens apart from the sovereign care of God.”

I hope and pray that this lesson won’t soon be forgotten in the busyness of perfectionism!

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…” –John 15:16