FOCUS Day Forty | John 15:1-8
DAY FORTY | John 15:1-8
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
New Metrics, Broadband Branches & Learning to Abide
How do you measure success in life? Answering this question was quite the wrestling match in my mind for many years. I had a genuine desire to follow Jesus and make a real impact in the world, but often struggled with the disconnect between what it seemed that I should do to grow my ministry and the way that Jesus lived.
I never fully realized how much I desired to appear successful to other people until the Lord started to highlight the places in my life and ministry that were patterned more after CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies than His life. But sure enough, as the Holy Spirit shed light on my inner motives, I was confronted by all of the places where I was looking to build something impressive for God. Of course, the problem with this way of thinking is that it is exactly the opposite of the way that Jesus walked when He was on the earth.
In one of the more poignant journaling moments of my life, I sensed that God was speaking to me that it would be hard for me to follow after the One that made Himself of no reputation as long as I was still trying to make a name for myself. Wow! This was a painful realization. Honestly, repenting from this way of thinking has been a difficult, on-going process that has taken place over several years.
I was a couple of years into this journey when a friend and ministry colleague came into town for a visit. We sat down over a bowl of chili at a local restaurant to talk and catch up on life. As we were finishing our food, the conversation shifted to how things were going with our church plant.
He asked me a series of questions related to attendance, the number of small groups that we had started, and how many people we had baptized. I don’t know if I had ever realized how much my understanding of what success looked like was tied to these metrics, but on that afternoon, I felt so convicted that providing those numbers just didn’t feel right anymore. It is not that those markers were inherently wrong, but I had grown used to being defined by them.
Without realizing it, I had tied my identity to how our ministry was doing, and the latest testimonies that I had to share. I remember looking across the table and seeing a befuddled look on my friend’s face. He didn’t seem impressed that I had not been doing a better job of quantifying how things were going.
Well, if you are not keeping up with these metrics, how are you measuring success?
I squirmed in my chair a little. Immediately, I knew what the answer to his question was, but I really didn’t want to say it out loud. I didn’t want to come across as pious or condescending, but I knew that I needed to share my repentance journey.
I looked up and told my friend, We are trying to learn how to abide in the vive, so we will see fruit that remains.
I don’t pretend to know exactly what my friend was thinking in that moment, but he didn’t seem too impressed. We changed the subject and finished our time together, exchanging hugs. He and his family left the next day, but that conversation remained fresh in my mind.
I went back to John 15 and read it again. I meditated on the words of Jesus on that last night before He was crucified. In some of His last moments before going to the cross, instead of laying out goals and objectives and reviewing the ten year plan, He speaks directly to the heart of the twelve, inviting them to abide in Him.
That word abide is such a beautiful word. It speaks of remaining in Him, connecting with Him, and being present with Him. Jesus chose this significant moment to let His friends know that even though He was leaving this earth, that the greatest thing they could do to be fruitful was to choose to intentionally remain in Him.
Some place along the way, God graciously revealed this truth to me. I had spent so much of my life trying to figure out how to succeed in ministry, how to bear more fruit. I know it is not true, but it really seemed that my value to God was found in how much fruit my ministry was producing.
This led to me always trying to figure out how successful my ministry was. I became a fruit accountant. It took years for me to figure out that my life was out of focus.
Jesus was inviting me to abide in Him, to be present and give Him my attention, but I was too busy analyzing my ministry metrics. I wasted so many years looking at the wrong end of the branch. In a way, I was worshiping the fruit by putting all of my attention on it.
Of course, this didn’t really work. When I saw fruit, I became prideful, leading me into the place where God was committed to resist me. When I didn’t see the fruit, I tried to do the Father’s job and prune my own branch. I prayed, fasted, read books, and went to workshops trying to figure a way to produce more fruit.
I had missed the invitation to just abide in Him, and instead, I was trying to manufacture fruit that would prove my significance in the Kingdom. But no matter what you do, you cannot build a grape. They grow on branches that are connected to the vine.
All of my striving and human effort could never produce genuine, healthy fruit.
I had forgotten what Zechariah 4:6 says. Not by might nor by power, (or by all of my own learning, effort, or strategy) but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
So if it is not my job to make fruit happen, what am I supposed to do?
Abide in Jesus. Remain with Jesus. Be present with the vine.
Over the past few years, I have to admit that I still haven’t mastered abiding. I am still tempted to try to force fruitfulness out of my own strength, but I know that this will never work. I have learned that the most important thing that I can do at the beginning of my day is to ask the question, What can I do to grow and steward my connection with Jesus today?
I have repented from my addiction to the wrong end of the branch. I don’t need to be keeping score on how much fruit is there. I need to lean in to strengthening my relationship with the Vine. After all, the root is the cause, the fruit is the consequence.
I have learned that I am not so good at pruning my own life. I tend to miss the real issues, and instead of cutting in a way that brings life, I can easily mutilate the thing that God wants to make fruitful. I can trust the Father to lovingly prune my branch. My role is to stay focused on Jesus, and cooperate with the work He is doing in my life.
I pray that you would be encouraged to give yourself completely to abiding in Jesus. He is worthy of your attention and affection with every breath. I pray that you would be freed from any pressure that you may have felt to accomplish something significant for God. His good and perfect will comes as you are transformed by being one with Him. And finally I pray, that you would be able to trust your life to the Trinity, knowing that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all committed to you going and bearing much fruit that remains, so that God is glorified.
Blessings.
