“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:1-2 English Standard Version
Three recent conversations ultimately focused on this Scripture. One of the conversations was in a large group discussing personal time management. The second was a discussion during our most recent Board of Directors meeting for Mission Services. The third was a private conversation between the director of a church planting movement and myself.
There is SO much truth in John 15 that we all need to learn. 1) Just as the branch does not tell the vine what fruit it will bear (Have you ever seen a peach growing on an apple tree?), we need to allow Jesus to decide what fruit we are to bear. 2) God wants our lives & ministries to be abundantly fruitful, because this is to his glory not ours. 3) God loves mature branches (Hear that senior citizens?), because they CONTINUE to bear fruit for YEARS. If the branch ever stops bearing fruit it is headed for the fire! Oh there is so much more!
However, the one point God seemed to be driving home through these 3 situations was the title of this week’s editorial/devotional/challenge. We all, both individually and as ministries, waste too much time on things God really does not want US doing. They may be good things, but it is not what WE should be doing. Why are we so busy trying to duplicate what someone else is doing? Discover what we do well as a person or ministry, and do more of THAT. Discover what we do not do so well, and STOP doing that! Let’s all think about that and discover where God wants change for us!
Did you tell someone at work, at church, at school, in your service organization, during your golf game, or wherever you were about the missions network app this week?
