Simplicity.

John 15:1-9

There is A LOT of noise all around us. They tell us who we are, how to do life and how worthy we are of attention and love. Most of these voices are focused on what we do, how well we do it and what the outcome of our hard work will be. How often do we let these voices influence our relationships with Jesus? How often do we hear these voices and forget that those voices of the world are not Jesus?

"Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me"

With my achiever-like tendencies, I read John 15:1-9 and my first thought may be “I have to produce fruit." Whether you are an achiever, a perfectionist, or you are simply distracted by the voices of the world, reading these words can feel confusing if we don’t focus on the main point of it - the simplicity of what Jesus is actually teaching us here. Our command is not to bear fruit on our own, it’s simply to remain. He has commanded us to remain in Him, and the fruit that we bear is a beautiful result of our dedication to Christ.

We get distracted by the pressures and the demands that we may feel, and want to do things right. We want to feel like we’ve made a difference or that we are “succeeding” as followers of Jesus, so we strive to see the end results before we even fully dedicate our focus to Jesus. Yes, we are commanded to love God and love others, to share our faith, to give our work our best efforts, and point people to Jesus. Are your efforts to do these things coming from your own strength, or is it flowing from a deep, intimate relationship with Jesus? He is where we find life, light, power, and He is at work. He wants to draw you nearer to Him and invite you to live a life as a disciple with Him.

“As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love.”

It is simple, friend! We seek to remain in Christ, and we rejoice in the opportunity to participate in the grand story of Jesus' victory. May our efforts to love God, love others and give life our best efforts flow from a heart overwhelmed by the love of Christ Himself.

Xoxo,

Andee Lee