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Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. John 14:23
Imagine what it would be like if your favorite actor, athlete, author or some other public figure gave you a call and said something like, “Hey there, I’ve been thinking of you lately and was wondering if I could stop by your house for a chat?”
What would you do? Thank him profusely and tell him under no circumstances do you want to see him? Would you suggest that you meet him elsewhere, say a restaurant or coffee shop or your favorite burger joint? What if he insisted that he come to your house and that he would be there in an hour?
No doubt you’d look around and decide what could and could not be cleaned. You’d think about repainting or re-carpeting…but you don’t have time. You may even consider borrowing a neighbor’s house and telling your guest that he had the address wrong.
Once your emotions were somewhat under control you’d think of the people to invite, the food to serve…you still have time to run to the store for a few things. Over the span of the next 59 ½ minutes you would do everything in your power to have your home looking it’s best for your guest.
Take this story to a whole new level. Now imagine that your guest really isn’t coming just for a visit. He wants to move in. He wants the room down the hall and on the left and he wants to be able to wake up every morning to have a cup of coffee with you and chat about the day ahead! Oh, and instead of this guest being some admired public figure, envision this guest as being God instead of some famous public figure! Sound outlandish? It isn’t.
Jesus told his followers that he and his Father not only wanted a relationship with them. He wanted to live with them. Let that sink in a bit. The great God of heaven, the creator of the universe, the almighty, all powerful, all knowing God WANTS to live with YOU.
Now, you may think, how would I ever be able to prepare my humble shack for God? That’s the other beautiful part of this story. You don’t have to clean up to get ready for him. God wants to come into your home and do everything that needs to be done for him to dwell with you. How’s that for an Extreme Makeover!
You may be thinking, “I’m not worth all that”, and you are right. You aren’t. But God’s desire for you is based on his love for you, not on your worthiness to receive it. All he asks of us it to love him and show him our love by obeying his word.
PRAYER: Father God, I’m in awe to think about how much you must love me if you want to live with me. There are days when I don’t even want to be around me, but you always want to be around me. I pray that you would come into my home. Forgive me for the mess I have here. Empower me by your Spirit to show you my love through obedience to your word. Amen.
If someone were to ask you ‘What would it take to quit loving someone you currently love dearly?’ what would your answer be?
For example, what would it take to stop loving your spouse/significant other? Some may say, ‘if my spouse/significant other cheated on me, that would be the end. I couldn’t stand trying to live with the betrayal. After all, if he/she did it once, chances of it happening again are likely. Nope. Cheating on me would be the end of that relationship.
If you were to ask Jesus, He’d say, I’ve been betrayed before. In fact, the ones I love have betrayed me over and over again. But I still love them. I’ve forgiven them. I’ll welcome them back as many times as they ask. Betrayal won’t kill my love for them. Each new day is a fresh beginning with Jesus.
Others may say, ‘If my spouse/significant other’ abused me that would be the end. No one should have to suffer the pain of abuse from another person. Jesus understood the pain of rejection and abuse. Those that should have accepted him the most readily were constantly ridiculing him, discredit him and trying to kill him. For a time Jesus avoided them. The spoke of their abuse and called them hypocrites, but even while keeping his distance from them he prayed for them. At one point he even wept for them. Eventually they did kill him, but even then some of his dying words were ‘Father forgive them.’
Jesus knows abuse and rejection. Even though he removed himself from abusive situations, he still prayed for his enemies. Jesus knew the difference between loving the person and not the actions they take.
Would it be a child’s rebellion that ended your love for him? Jesus often called the ones who mistreated and rejected him his children and called them to his open arms. Jesus knows rebellion and while he hates to see us rebel, he refuses to stop loving us.
Paul’s prayerful desire is for us is that we know a love that is beyond our knowledge. That love is the love Jesus showed while on earth and continues to show every day for us. I don’t understand it. I can’t fathom how someone can love the abusive parent, the abusive or cheating spouse, the terrorist, or the person who cuts me off on the interstate.
I don’t understand how he can love someone who he knows will betray him or wants him dead or speaks evil of him, or fails him time and time again. I don’t understand how he can overlook someone’s past and present sin and love them anyway. I don’t understand Jesus’ love, but I’m eternally grateful for his love for me. For you see it’s the love of Jesus that keeps me going when others mistreat me, discredit me or betray me. It’s the love and forgiveness of Jesus that keeps me sane when, once again, I’ve done something, or said something that displeases him because I know that even when I hurt him deeply by my thoughts, actions and words his love is deeper still.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I’m in awe as I consider the great love you have for us mere mortals. We fight and bicker. We betray and abuse. We neglect or destroy the most important relationships we have. Still, you love me. This is too wonderful, too awesome to comprehend. Help me this day to consider, with each step I take, the great, unending love you have for me. In your holy, loving name I pray, Amen.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
Allow me to vent a little bit! If you have followed Christ or been involved in church and Bible Study for any length of time you have no doubt heard the verses quoted above. We’ve been ‘reminded’ through books, sermons and Sunday School lessons to ‘be filled with the Spirit’ and that if we are our lives will be marked by all the good things in life. Things that there is no law against.
After all, who is going to go to jail for being guilty of ‘love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control?’ No one of course. In fact, just the opposite will happen. We’ll be respected (although some may call us weird), loving people.
So, here is my vent. I agree that we should all strive to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. If we have asked Christ to forgive us and desire a close relationship with Him, reliance on the Holy Spirit isn’t optional, it’s imperative.
However, as someone who, admittedly, isn’t always very loving,, joyful, peaceful, forbearing, kind, good, faithful, gentle or self-controlled I struggle. Sometimes it seems like no matter how hard I try there just isn’t always a healthy crop of ‘spiritual fruit’ hanging from the branches of my life.
If you have ever felt like an apple tree with more branches and leaves than crisp red fruit then you know how I feel. Then, again, as I thought about that I got thinking more about what goes into a healthy crop of fruit and was encouraged by what I learned. Hopefully, my ‘vents’ will help you in your walk as well.
The most important aspect of growing healthy fruit is time. I think many of us expect that once we decide to follow Christ, or renew a relationship with him, that we will instantly become healthy fruit-bearing Christ-followers. While there may be some miraculous exceptions to the rule, most fruit takes time to mature.
Don’t give up on yourself when you don’t see instant success in bearing fruit. Fruit trees have to weather many storms and harsh winters before they see an abundance of fruit hanging from their branches.
Secondly, healthy fruit trees are a result of intensive, consistent care and nurturing. That’s a two-fold challenge for us. First of all, take care of your ‘tree’ by spending time learning from God’s word, developing a consistent prayer life and instilling accountability with other ‘trees’ who have weathered the storms. You have to be healthy to have healthy fruit.
The second challenge in healthy fruit is that you can’t expect results in others overnight any more than your changes happen over night. To bring others into relationship with Christ can take a long time because there are hurdles of the past, current situations and self-esteem issues to overcome. Be patient with the blossoms and young fruit in your care. Slow growth and time are crucial in healthy fruit.
Lastly, remember that ultimately, the healthy growth of fruit is out of your hands. The orchard grower knows that he can only do so much to bring a healthy crop. Some things (like nature) are out of his control. Do what you can in your own life, and in the lives of others to make growing conditions the best they can be. But remember that only God can really change you or others. Healthy, mature fruit is ultimately in His hands alone.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, much as I want to be a healthy producer of fruit in my life and the lives of others, I confess that I fall short on a daily basis. There are times when I have just given up on trying to live a life that shows the power of Your Holy Spirit because I’ve failed so many times. Forgive me for the failures, empower me to keep trying, give me patience as I let time and reliance on you work in my life and the lives of others. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 