I’ve been sifting through the value of sharing my own processing of God’s word. The ‘need’ to share the gems I think He shows in the searching. To sit here and expound, to speak on what He’s already said, seems arrogant, you know? Like, He’s already said it best. How can I think I could add anything, or say it any ‘better’?!? But, sometimes I think God says things to us in the Scriptures that invite us to ask, “What does that mean?” Because sometimes it seems there are contradictions. But He does not contradict Himself. There is just more to it than we’re seeing, and some we will never get our heads around completely. But, that is Him. The invitation He makes to seek Him in order to understand Him and His ways better, the hunger we have, and the search to know Him more. So here goes…I’ll share the questions I’ve had and what I’ve discovered. He is the one who’s spoken through HIs word and His Spirit, He is the source of our hunger, and He alone has the answers that lead to all that we ever need—Himself.

I was reading in Scripture, John’s account of Jesus’ ministry. In John 15, (vs.1-8) Jesus and the 12 closest followers of HIs, are having their last meal together before Jesus knows He’s going to die and physically leave them. He’s giving them last important instructions. 

“I am the true grapevine…you are the branches…

Remain in Me and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in Me. Separate from Me, you can do nothing.”

He goes on to basically say, anyone who does not remain in Him, won’t bear fruit, and so withers dead and in its useless state is gathered and thrown out to be burned. But those who do remain in Him,  have access to all that He is and has to offer.

So of course, my mind goes to, “How do I remain?” I sure want to be on that side of the Vine, so to speak.

He goes on, 

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love.” 

I immediately think, “Yes! That’s what I want to do, but How does He define that?”

Boom! Next sentence from HIs mouth…

“When you obey my commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in HIs love. 

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes! Your joy will overflow!”

He’s made it clear-He loves us, with the same amount of love the Father has loved Him. That’s a crazy ton!

He’s making it clear He has overflowing joy for us that He wants us to have. 

He says, “Remain in Me”, “Remain in My love,” “Have My joy.”

This word ‘remain” (Greek word ‘meno”) means to “stay attached, live in, abide, endure, wait expectantly, be connected to, to not leave, to remain as one with, not become as another separate or different from.”

Jesus says we remain in Him, remain in His love, by doing what He said to do. At first glance one might think that means we have to earn His love. But we know that we don’t earn HIs love. I mean after all, “Christ died for us (loved us) while we were still sinners.” Those who’ve committed their lives to Him, have had their sins forgiven by HIs death that paid for them. It wasn’t by any ability they had to follow His commands. He loved us before we ever loved Him. Jesus depicts the Father’s love as one that leaves the 99 obedient sheep and goes after the 1 lost one. 

So what does Jesus mean here?!? 

Clearly obedience equals connectedness with Jesus and connectedness to HIs love and joy.

What is obedience/disobedience really about that determines our connectedness to Him or our separation from Him, the True Vine?

I was talking this out with Him on a walk. And I remembered the story Jesus told in response to criticism that He hung out with sinners. A story about the son who left his rich father’s household to do his own thing. This son basically said to his father, “Give me my portion of your riches I would get when you’re dead. I don’t want to live with you anymore, I don’t want you, I want the riches you have for me. I want them now.” He goes far away, and spends until it runs out. He ends up very hungry. 

The son detached himself from his father’s household by doing what he wanted instead of what the father wanted. He detached himself from all supply offered to him by being in the household. HIs self-guiding, separated him from the father’s supply of riches. Did the father love the son any less? Absolutely not! Jesus said when the hungry son decided to come back and humble himself, that the father saw him coming when he was a long distance off. The father had been watching for him. The father was ‘filled with love and compassion, he ran to him, hugged him and kissed him.” Then threw a huge party with all his friends to celebrate the return of his detached son. The father clearly did not love this separated son any less for disobeying him, leaving his realm of authority. But the son had separated himself from EXPERIENCING the father’s love. The father was aching for him, watching for him, longing to see him again. The loss in his heart was as if his son had died. But the son was not experiencing this abundance of love because he wasn’t there. On his own, the son ran out of money. Was lonely. Ran out of ability to seek his own pleasure. Was dying of hunger. 

There was another son who remained in the household serving his father for many years, never leaving, ‘never disobeying his commands.’ The son who remained was upset that such honor was given to the disobedient son who’d returned. The father’s response, “YOU ARE ALWAYS WITH ME——ALL THAT I HAVE IS YOURS!”

That’s the picture to me of Jesus the true vine and the branches. 

Doing what Jesus commands = staying attached. 

It is not earned. It is just how it works. If we don’t do what He says, what are we doing? We are doing our will instead. We are saying we know better and we want our way instead. We are saying we don’t need His guidance. We are declaring our independence, our ability to self-supply. We are detaching ourselves from His abundance. I’m going to be a bit graphic here. It’d be like cutting off our hand and laying it on a table in front of us. What do we expect to happen to it? How would it do what it was designed to do? What will happen to it the longer it lays there? Can the hand supply itself?

Jesus said a little earlier in this last meal they had together,

“If you love Me, you will obey my commands” (Jn.14:15)

“Those who accept My commands and do them are the ones who love Me…and I will reveal Myself to each of them.” (Jn. 14:21)

“All who love me will do what I say…the Father and I will come and make our home with each of them.” (Jn. 14:21)

“I am the True Vine, you are the branches, stay attached to Me.” (Have your lives intertwined with Me and what I’ve said.)

If we willfully choose to not do what He says, we don’t really believe what He’s said.

If we don’t really believe what He’s said, we don’t really believe in Him. 

He says, if we don’t do what He said, we don’t really love Him.

Until the day the we die, we will have instances when we look back on our actions and realize we have not done what He wanted us to do. Times that we sin. And we need to apologize to Him. We need to “remain in His words and His words remain in us.” We need to clearly know what Jesus has instructed us to do. How to live. And we need to pursue it. He knows when we are and when we’re not. In Him we have the power to do what He said.

A few moments later, at their last meal, Jesus said, ”I HAVE CHOSEN YOU. I HAVE APPOINTED YOU, to bear fruit that will remain.” (John 15:16) The vocabulary used here is the idea that there is a designated place carved out for us where we belong. Paul writes to the church in Corinth, ”We were made for Him.” (1 Corinthians 8:6) It’s the idea that there is s place in Him that by design our shape fits into, like a puzzle piece. And that in that place (on the vine) we ”bear fruit that remains.” Fruit that will last. Eternally. The only part of our lives that will remain after our bodies die.

But for us even now, He promises…to those attached to Him and His words…

“ALL THAT I HAVE IS YOURS”  “Ask for what you want…” (Jn. 15:7, 6)

“I GIVE YOU MY PEACE.” (Jn.14:27)

“The way the Father loves Me, I LOVE YOU.” (Jn. 15:9)

YOUR JOY WILL BE FULL AND OVERFLOW” (Jn. 15:11)

“STAY 

IN

ME”

Just stay.