I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:11
I've been reading a lot about joy lately.
Ultimately, isn't joy what we're all searching for?
We look for it and seek it in so many ways. How we seek it this week may be totally different from how we seek it next week. Jesus knows us so well and He knows that's what we are searching for, maybe we just don't realize what to call the longing within us that keeps us seeking. He knows how hard living this life is since He lived it too. He provides His How-To-Guide for possessing the joy we long for in John 15:11 The clue lies in the 3 little words this, so, and that. I have told you THIS SO THAT. Told you this. What's this? We have to know what this is, before we can move on to the so that and what follows.
Let's read what comes before the this.
The How-To-Guide really begins in verse 1. Take a minute to read John 15:1-11. Yes, I really want you to read it. I know you've read it before, but that's all the more reason to read it again. I love it when He teaches me something fresh from something I once thought was familiar, and He will do the same for you. Come on, it's only 11 verses! If you don't have a Bible handy, I've included it here for you.
Ultimately, isn't joy what we're all searching for?
We look for it and seek it in so many ways. How we seek it this week may be totally different from how we seek it next week. Jesus knows us so well and He knows that's what we are searching for, maybe we just don't realize what to call the longing within us that keeps us seeking. He knows how hard living this life is since He lived it too. He provides His How-To-Guide for possessing the joy we long for in John 15:11 The clue lies in the 3 little words this, so, and that. I have told you THIS SO THAT. Told you this. What's this? We have to know what this is, before we can move on to the so that and what follows.
Let's read what comes before the this.
The How-To-Guide really begins in verse 1. Take a minute to read John 15:1-11. Yes, I really want you to read it. I know you've read it before, but that's all the more reason to read it again. I love it when He teaches me something fresh from something I once thought was familiar, and He will do the same for you. Come on, it's only 11 verses! If you don't have a Bible handy, I've included it here for you.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 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. 5 “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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (NIV)
Take Away #1
| Let's snag our first take away from verse 3. You are ALREADY clean. Sometimes we strive and strive going from thing to thing in an effort to be "good enough". We think, "If I'm good enough, then I'll feel joy." Again, He knows us so well and nips that thinking right in the bud at the beginning of His story. We are not going to get any cleaner with our efforts. We have to accept the truth of this verse that we are ALREADY clean before joy can begin to flow in us and eventually out of us. | You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. |
Take Away #2
| So - if we aren't supposed to strive to be more clean, naturally we think, "Okay. Now what?" He knew what we would be thinking and goes ahead and starts answering before we can utter the words! Take a peek at verse 4. Our "now what" is Abide. Don't throw something at me right now. I know what you're thinking! You've heard this and heard this, rest assured, so have I, but hang with me for a minute. | Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. John 15:4 (NASB) |
Abide means to stay , to continue, to dwell, to be present, remain, live. We've heard these explanations. But more specifically, in this verse Abide is about relationship, remaining in or with someone; to be and remain united with Him . One with Him in heart, mind, and will.
That's the specifics of abiding - being one with Him in my heart, my mind, and my will. If am in ceaseless activity to be more clean, I can't be one with Him in all of these areas because my mind and my will are definitely preoccupied. No joy will flow in or through me.
That's the specifics of abiding - being one with Him in my heart, my mind, and my will. If am in ceaseless activity to be more clean, I can't be one with Him in all of these areas because my mind and my will are definitely preoccupied. No joy will flow in or through me.
Take Away #3
| We find our third take away in verse 5 where He reminds us again that He is the vine. He just told us that in verse 1, but I guess it's important enough for Him to repeat just a couple of verses later. He probably said it again it because He knows me well enough to know that He would need to repeat himself on this matter since I tend to be a little hard of hearing at times ;-) He also understands that I tend to jump into the activity and try to be the vine myself! That's not my job, my job is to be the branch. | 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (NASB) |
| After He sets me straight on His role and mine, He tells me that those who abide in Him will bear fruit. When we remain united with Him in heart, mind, and will, we will bear fruit. Not just a little fruit either, He says MUCH fruit. Didn't we already say that we're all searching for joy? Well, let's take a peak at Galatians 5:22-23. What is joy? Joy is a fruit. So are all of the other things listed with it. The Vine, Jesus, produces the fruit in our lives when we remain attached in heart, mind, and will to Him. We don't produce it, He does. We just bear it. To bear something means to carry, to transport, or move something from one location to another! It's not up to me to grow joy, what is up to me is to unite my heart, mind, and will to His and then carry around what He grows in me. | 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. |
Take Away #4
| In the last part of verse 5, He tells us something very important, yet the concept has become so repeated and familiar that I think we sometimes skim over what it means in an application sense. He tells us that apart from Him we can do nothing and goes on to remind us in verse 6 that unattached to Him, we dry up. I've lived detached from the Vine many times and that's exactly how I always end up. | 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. John 15:5-6 (NASB) |
click photo for image source A branch can only bear the type of fruit that the vine it's attached to produces. A peach tree doesn't produce apples. My husbands beloved blackberry vines can't produce strawberries. Even if I took a detached vine from the strawberries and tied it to the blackberry vine, it still would not produce blackberries. That's not the way God designed it. A pine tree doesn't bear acorns, it bears pine cones.
Bottom line - if I want to bear joy, I must remain attached to the Vine that produces it. I cannot attach myself to the world's way of thinking on matters and expect to have joy. I cannot attach my heart to some other love and expect to bear joy. I can't make choices that the world makes and have His fruit be the by-product. Strawberries don't grow on cockle bur bushes and the world is full of fields of cockle bur bushes!
I must be attached not merely in a profession of faith for salvation, not merely in attending services on Sunday, but attached in relationship. UNITED with HIM in my heart, my mind, and my will. He affects my loves, He affects my thoughts, He affects my choices.
All of me + Him = MUCH fruit.
And joy is fruit.
That's the How-To for me and you. If I'm not experiencing joy, it's time to re-evaluate what I've united my heart, my mind, and my will with. If there's no joy, I've disconnected somewhere. I can come back to the True Source and don't have to conjure up the joy, just make the connection.
Bottom line - if I want to bear joy, I must remain attached to the Vine that produces it. I cannot attach myself to the world's way of thinking on matters and expect to have joy. I cannot attach my heart to some other love and expect to bear joy. I can't make choices that the world makes and have His fruit be the by-product. Strawberries don't grow on cockle bur bushes and the world is full of fields of cockle bur bushes!
I must be attached not merely in a profession of faith for salvation, not merely in attending services on Sunday, but attached in relationship. UNITED with HIM in my heart, my mind, and my will. He affects my loves, He affects my thoughts, He affects my choices.
All of me + Him = MUCH fruit.
And joy is fruit.
That's the How-To for me and you. If I'm not experiencing joy, it's time to re-evaluate what I've united my heart, my mind, and my will with. If there's no joy, I've disconnected somewhere. I can come back to the True Source and don't have to conjure up the joy, just make the connection.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
John 15:11
