Daily Devotion January 28, 2014 Apart from Jesus we can do nothing John 15:1-8 Jesus, the True Vine “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. 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 be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. Points to Ponder: For two days I was meditating on this passage and I was praying to the Lord to give me new insight of what does it really mean by remain in me and of bear fruit. Is it possible to be fruitful without Jesus? This question might become tricky and at times subjective. Let us define fruitful, it could be defined as a life that is satisfying, a life that has peace, a life that is useful to the society. It could also be defined as a life that is full of love and compassion to others. So now the answer to the question is becoming harder. Is it possible to be fruitful apart from Jesus? The bible says it is not possible, as Jesus said For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Why then are there people who do not profess relationship with Jesus Christ, who do not believe in Him, but are capable of doing good, capable of compassion and capable to give and be generous? While on the other hand Galatians 5:22 says Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, so on that basis it is really impossible for people who do not believe Jesus and who have not received the Holy Spirit to have a genuine love and compassion. I was struck by that same question many years ago when I was giving a testimony to one of my college friends about how Jesus changed my life and how I became good person (and he knew it), then he threw a question that I was not prepared to answer, he asked me innocently, if Jesus is the only way to become good then why are there some people who are not Christians I know who are good? That was a correct argument. The bible has an answer to that in Luke 6:33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!, this means anyone can do good even sinners can do good and show goodness but the question is to whom and how far and where does compassion coming from? But there is a kind of love and compassion that goes beyond our understanding and capability, a selfless love, a sacrificial love, a kind of love that Christians can give their lives to total strangers for the sake of Christ. I realized that we cannot love and we cannot be compassionate more than we can without Jesus. I just read the story of Dr. Hudson Taylor and his family who faced the dangers of going to inland China back in the 19th century, to bring the message of love of Christ to the people who have not heard about Him. This danger was so real since the people back then were willing to kill the foreigners, in fact many missionaries were killed during those times. What kind of love is this that your are willing to sacrifice and die so they can be saved? I am reading also the story of Christian and Christine Schneider who left the comfort of Switzerland and live in the slums of Manila for 10 years just to show the love of Christ to those who are burdened. Surely we cannot do those deeds apart from Jesus. Even now there are still countless missionaries who are giving their lives and sacrifice their comforts for the love of Christ. For me that is beyond the capability of men. It may sound bias but I truly believe, just as how real Jesus is, and how true His Words are, only through Jesus we can have a genuine love and compassion. Good deeds that the only motive is to share and show Jesus Christ so that others may celebrate with Him in eternal life. Isnt that so selfless? But we can only do that if we receive the strength from the vine Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 00:31:05 +0000
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