FOR THE SAKE OF FRUIT
Prayer
Praying On The Journey With Christ
A Commitment To Encounter Christ Through The Gospel Of John
Object:
John 15:1-11
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 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."
COMMENTARY
This lesson is about vines and branches, bearing fruit, asking for God's help, and completed joy. It is also about pruning, judgment, warning, and fire. There are promises and warnings, fruit and fire. The vine, Jesus Christ, is the key to productive life and love. Unless our branch is anchored in him, there is no life force capable of producing fruit.
PRAYER
Lord, we cannot escape your pruning shears. Whether we do good or bad, the sharp cut of your knife always seems poised at our throats. You do not let our lives go to leaf. It hurts, Lord, when you prune. We bleed as certainly as a spring cut twig. It hurts, Lord, and it is hard not to fear that you may overcut us, thereby killing us. It is hard to remember that what you are doing to us, you do for us, and for the sake of fruit.
Sometimes, Lord, we wonder about your pruning technique. We know, partially, what effect you have on us when you cut out of our lives someone we've thought very precious. Our investment in the resurrection grows substantially! But, Lord, when it grows this way, we worry about our motives for wanting the new life to come. Sometimes it feels more like yearning for reunion with those we've loved and lost, than union with you for all time.
We cannot know, Lord, about the lost loved ones, and how you justify it to them. All we can see is your pruning from this side of eternal life. When you take one of us away, especially prematurely, what are we to think of his loss of this life's experience? How are we to justify it? How do you justify it? Surely there is more to it than making fruit come from us who remain.
Lord, you know what we're hinting at. You know your way appears cruel to the survivor. You know that our questions are endless about the "why." We never get a satisfactory answer. You keep telling us that it will become clear later, to have faith, to wait. You make us all feel so expendable. For the sake of fruit would you sacrifice any one of us?
How you love the unbelievers, Lord. You are forever giving them examples of your faithful people not giving up on you nor giving in to despair. How you wish to bring them into the family of faith. You will let us bear any indignity for their sakes, and they don't even know it. You count us as sheep for the slaughter, hoping that one of them will see your supportive love reflected in us. It is a hard task, Lord. It is a heavy yoke. You use us and expect us not to complain too bitterly about it. How can you expect us to love the unbelieving world this much? We are not you!
Lord, if it were left up to us, we would have called it quits long ago with the faithless world. We would declare it a lost cause. We would do that, except we remember that once we were a part of the world of unbelief. Were it not for the memory of a time in our lives without you, we would not see any purpose for your waiting to end it all.
Thank you for waiting for us, Lord. Thank you for not giving up too quickly on the world and us. Thank you for pruning those persons who have touched us more deeply than they know, because we see your love in them. Thank you for the hope of being pruned by you for your kingdom's sake. Amen.
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. 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."
COMMENTARY
This lesson is about vines and branches, bearing fruit, asking for God's help, and completed joy. It is also about pruning, judgment, warning, and fire. There are promises and warnings, fruit and fire. The vine, Jesus Christ, is the key to productive life and love. Unless our branch is anchored in him, there is no life force capable of producing fruit.
PRAYER
Lord, we cannot escape your pruning shears. Whether we do good or bad, the sharp cut of your knife always seems poised at our throats. You do not let our lives go to leaf. It hurts, Lord, when you prune. We bleed as certainly as a spring cut twig. It hurts, Lord, and it is hard not to fear that you may overcut us, thereby killing us. It is hard to remember that what you are doing to us, you do for us, and for the sake of fruit.
Sometimes, Lord, we wonder about your pruning technique. We know, partially, what effect you have on us when you cut out of our lives someone we've thought very precious. Our investment in the resurrection grows substantially! But, Lord, when it grows this way, we worry about our motives for wanting the new life to come. Sometimes it feels more like yearning for reunion with those we've loved and lost, than union with you for all time.
We cannot know, Lord, about the lost loved ones, and how you justify it to them. All we can see is your pruning from this side of eternal life. When you take one of us away, especially prematurely, what are we to think of his loss of this life's experience? How are we to justify it? How do you justify it? Surely there is more to it than making fruit come from us who remain.
Lord, you know what we're hinting at. You know your way appears cruel to the survivor. You know that our questions are endless about the "why." We never get a satisfactory answer. You keep telling us that it will become clear later, to have faith, to wait. You make us all feel so expendable. For the sake of fruit would you sacrifice any one of us?
How you love the unbelievers, Lord. You are forever giving them examples of your faithful people not giving up on you nor giving in to despair. How you wish to bring them into the family of faith. You will let us bear any indignity for their sakes, and they don't even know it. You count us as sheep for the slaughter, hoping that one of them will see your supportive love reflected in us. It is a hard task, Lord. It is a heavy yoke. You use us and expect us not to complain too bitterly about it. How can you expect us to love the unbelieving world this much? We are not you!
Lord, if it were left up to us, we would have called it quits long ago with the faithless world. We would declare it a lost cause. We would do that, except we remember that once we were a part of the world of unbelief. Were it not for the memory of a time in our lives without you, we would not see any purpose for your waiting to end it all.
Thank you for waiting for us, Lord. Thank you for not giving up too quickly on the world and us. Thank you for pruning those persons who have touched us more deeply than they know, because we see your love in them. Thank you for the hope of being pruned by you for your kingdom's sake. Amen.
