Focus

As you quiet yourself for this brief time, be willing to be open to God in whatever way that may take place.

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Read

John 15:9-17 (NRSV)

As the Father has loved me, so I 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. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

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Reflect

Fruit that will last is something with which I’m very familiar—at least, lately. My wife and I have been dieting, and part of that process is buying fresh produce from the grocery store. The problem lies with eating that produce before it goes bad. Despite our best intentions, a few items almost always rot because we don’t eat them fast enough.

Christ uses the imagery of fruit when talking to his disciples about spreading the word. He tells his disciples, “I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last….” He knows that too many times we fall away from what we learned and allow ourselves to be swayed by the world. In a way, we become the rotten fruit that started out fresh and whole only to wither away and be destined for the trash heap. Staying fresh, being the fruit that will last, is a tall order, but it can be accomplished by remaining true to the Word of God.

In that same section, Jesus gives his disciples the “secret” to the longevity of their journey. He says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love….” Then he follows it up with further clarification, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Sounds simple enough, right? We all know it’s not that easy to love everyone. Thankfully, God is a God of forgiveness and reconciliation. When we do fall prey to the siren song of the secular world and allow ourselves to stray, God’s love and our willingness to ask forgiveness keeps us in that “fresh fruit bin.” Our goal? To remain a beautiful, unspoiled piece of God’s fruit that influences others for Christ without becoming jaded and disheartened and turning away from God. Who wants to be a blackened, mushy banana?

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Pray

Dear Lord, help us to maintain the fresh, healthy glow of a new believer. Allow us, by our actions, to be seen as followers and doers of your word. Pick us up when we are bruised and battered. Keep us strong in our faith. Amen.

Go with God.