Today’s reading: John 15
Last weekend, B.J. and I spent Saturday and Sunday at a (virtual) goal setting retreat. The sessions were designed to lead us through a framework that helps to create clarity and alignment for couples’ shared goals (the course was designed for marriages, business partners, etc.). While I was tired and ready to be done by the end of day two, the experience was beneficial. I’m really glad we went. In fact, I’ve already put the retreat on my calendar for November, 2021.
One of the exercises early on day one was to have each person identify their top three values. Believe me, this was a lot more difficult than I expected. Do you know how hard it is to reduce a page of 140 different values down to your top three? Now imagine trying to do that in 15 minutes or less! Needless to say, I didn’t get it whittled down to my top three until about midway through day two. But when I finally finished the exercise and compared my results to B.J.’s results, I discovered that our #2 value is the same – Impact. Having a positive, measurable impact on people is very important to both of us.
As a I was studying John 15 and preparing for this post, I kept coming back to the notion of positively impacting others. I think the apostle John would consider positively impacting others to be part of what Jesus refers to as “bearing fruit”. We positively impact others when we encourage them, pray for them, love them, and point them to Jesus.
A little more than half of John chapter 15 is focused on Jesus as the vine, his followers as the branches, and God as the gardener. Just like any other gardner, God’s objective is for his crops to produce much fruit, as this brings him glory (verse 8).
Depending on the type of fruit, vines (or trees) are its life source. If you cut fruit off from the life source, it dies. In the same way, we as followers of Jesus Christ will not bear fruit if we are cut off from Jesus, our life source. How do we do stay connected to him? We read his word, talk to him, seek counsel from and connection with other Christfollowers.
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).
If I want to live out my core value of positively impacting those around me, the recipe is pretty simple. I must stay close to Jesus Christ and let him guide my paths. A life apart from him yields nothing.