Category: Grace

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Jesus Rejoices When We Bear Fruit, So Abide in Him and Dream Big

Let me get to the bottom line on what I share here: God wants you to do great things — with Him, NOT for Him.

In the hours before he was arrested and ultimately crucified, Jesus spoke to his disciples about things that were both near to his heart and important for them to know so that they might remain strong in their faith without him by their side. Perhaps that is why John chapter 14 to 17 are among my favorites, and especially John 15. I have written extensively about the concept of abiding in Jesus that is presented, and how abiding is the primary way to have a life that is both personally fulfilling and pleasing to God. As I read through that chapter recently, I realize that I had perhaps missed a second major theme in that chapter. That theme is “fruitfulness”.

The word “fruit” appears almost as many times as the word “abide”. The two concepts are intertwined, though they appear independently of each other, as well. One clear example of the two being intertwined comes in John 15:4-5. It says,

4“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5I 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.” (ESV)

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Accepting God’s Invitation to Walk Closely with Him: The Only Hope for the Burned Out, Disappointed, and Disillusioned

Introduction

I believe that Jesus is calling out to people today, almost pleading with them to come into a very close relationship with Him. The way to Jesus is meant to be so simple that no one would be prevented from coming to Him, and no one would feel like it was too difficult to find that deep relationship. Unfortunately, many have decided that what Jesus said was too good to be true, and have tried to complicate it. Organized religion has sometimes misrepresented Jesus, making Him to be a God whose primary focus is on judgment and condemnation. Even people who genuinely love Jesus can make it difficult for themselves, by putting additional burdens of performance on themselves, or by unnecessarily choosing to continually carry a heavy load of guilt or shame. But the very words of Jesus speak against this. We can read His appeal to those far and near alike in Matthew 11:28-30.

28Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” (NLT)

We need to take Jesus’ words seriously, when he says that he provides rest for us, and that his way is easy (or light). He says a lot more than that in these few simple verses, and it would help us if we unpack them a little bit.

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The Narrow Path Between the Law and the Flesh

The Church struggles in finding balance on many Biblical principles. One of the most important struggles relates to what I have called in brief the balance between the Law and the Flesh, but is perhaps better described as keeping the balance between the extreme of legalism on the one hand and selfish independence and licentiousness on the other. Most believers can recognize legalism in others, but have trouble recognizing it in themselves. I suppose the same can be said for selfish independence, because it is easy to think of those who we consider to be believers in name only — those who claim to be Christians and yet exhibit little evidence of such. People using Biblical text could argue for both extremes — that we are to live righteously, or alternatively that we are not under the Law and so are free to do what we want. As with many issues, the truth lies in between the extremes — but where?

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