Lighthouse Keeper

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. John 15:4. 

Before the death and resurrection of Jesus, our sins separated us from God so we need a sacrifice to atone for (cover or reconcile) ourselves.  Now you may think that’s a bit weird, why do I need a sacrifice? It may have made sense to ancient Mayans or even the Jewish nation but we’ve moved on from that sort of thing. 

One of the things I’ve learned in my studies and exploration of the things of Jesus is that you need to accept things as they are, not how you want them to be. As a non-believer in my early 20’s I came to a point where I just wanted to know either way, was this God stuff real or not? Was Jesus a real person? Why is everyone so obsessed with him? The more I studied (I have a Master’s degree so book study comes easy for me) the more captivated I became with the mysteries of the Bible and the story of Jesus. Why is the story still going? Why do people “see the light” and go all ga-ga from him? Did these historical events really happen and if so, how does that change things? 

The central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him (Oswald Chambers). 

The gospel message is not one of establishing a moral code, being a good person, or finding a nice way to meet wholesome people in a church. Believe me, there are many people who come in and out of churches over the years who want these things and eventually turn away disappointed. The death (atonement by the blood of Jesus) and resurrection of God in the flesh is a gift of moving from death to life- a new creation. And it is this newly created or born again person who follows (or abides, remains with) Jesus to bear fruit. 

So what is the fruit?  

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

This fruit is the evidence of a person who is being conformed to be like Jesus. Not how often they go to church. Not how many charities they serve. Not if they have the most Bible knowledge. Put simply, the fruit is who you are, not what you do. Now some people try to twist this around and say “well if you love the church then you’ll be on five church rosters”. It’s a joyless nonsense more aligned with trying to earn God’s love than be like Him.  How you are with your family and friends at home, how you talk to the staff at a cafe, how you approach life with optimism and courage and peace; these are the fruits of the Spirit. 

Your loyalty to Him, your sticking with Him. 

It doesn’t require striving or manufacturing of projects to try and force the fruit. The abide and remain of John 15:4 will feed and water you. You are reconciled to God by the atonement of Jesus Christ and in this way, you will bear fruit. Remain in me.