John 15:16
Rebecca Lightfoot
After Jesus talks about how our love for Him is expressed,Jesus gives us our first commandment/assignment before He is taken away to b crucified.Jesus gives us our primary “assignment”/“appointment”,to b empowered through our love for Jesus and our obedience to His Word!That assignment/appointment is to bear fruit.Jesus says n John15:16a,”You did not choose me,but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit”.Jesus says we have a purpose/a reason for living..., given to us by Almighty God,Our Father n Heaven->to bear much fruit.This means that our perspective for everything we do and think needs to have the ultimate question assigned to it of “what fruit is it that is growing out of my life”?And then,Jesus says that we should care about what happens to the fruit that grows out of our life when he says n Jn15:16b,”and that your fruit should abide,so that whatever you ask the Father n my name,he may give it to you”.A quick read of this verse has led many to say,”I have asked,& God hasn’t said a thing nor given me what I asked”!This is often n my heart!I have a problem that I have taken the last piece of what Jesus says and apply it totally out of context of his message n the whole verse!If we take to heart the entire APPOINTMENT that Jesus has called us to,it should turn our focus away from the mundane aspirations for life and onto the Eternal Purposes for this life we have been GIFTED with!Jesus is calling us to b Eternally Minded!To have our hearts & minds changed from a shortsighted mundane purpose/vision,to a vision that REACHES for the ETERNAL purpose/vision for life.He says the our appointment is to bear fruit as we ABIDE n the love of Christ,& that the fruit we bear also ABIDE n the love of Christ.This ABIDING n us and in the fruit of our lives,means that our focus needs to b on how our lives r “appointed” by Jesus to have Eternal significance n our life,AND the lives of those around us.When this happens,our prayers/our desires r changed from those that r rooted in our comforts&pleasures....changed to become those that r more and more focused on things that carry Eternal Significance in our life,& the lives of those around us!Once this happens n our life,our heart&life become aligned with Jesus’ Heart...we begin to ABIDE n HIS Love!And then we begin to see the Strength & Power of Christ n and around our lives,as we have the eyes/heart/mind to appreciate the Eternal Aspects of all things around us.This is our lives being firmly grafted into Jesus,the only True Vine that Jesus talks about n John15:1-5!Dear Lord,these verses open my eyes to how much of my life has totally missed the Blessings of what YOU have APPOINTED me for(created me for/given me life for).My focus has been on the mundane,& my life “fogged in” by things that don’t really matter when compared to the Eternal Significance of life.Thank You for Your great Mercy and Grace that can not only change me,but also give me hope when I turn my life over to ABIDING n YOUR LOVE!