John 15:1-10
According to John, Jesus spoke these words on the night before his death. People get around to saying important stuff when they know there are not many opportunities left. I am not suggesting that Jesus goofed off up until this moment, but these are significant teachings for the disciple – both of that day and today.
Real discipleship – life-changing, life-sustaining discipleship – comes through a relationship with Jesus. His analogy is a common one of his day, maybe less so for us who do not raise gardens or did not grow up on a farm.
God is the gardener who cares for the vineyard and makes the ultimate decisions about the fruitfulness of each branch. Jesus is the vine. It is he that connects us to God. It is through him that we as branches receive our nourishment for life. Apart from him, we are not only fruitless; we are dead.
As we live out this personal relationship with God through Jesus, our lives can change and mature. The Bible is full of people who changed and matured; many of them desperately needed it. Most people talked about in the Bible had issues. Some of them were downright dysfunctional. Yet, each of them were touched by God and responded in some way to the invitation to enter the Kingdom.
No two did it exactly alike. No two became exactly the same. Likewise, God invites us to enter the Kingdom and grow into a likeness of Jesus in the wondrous and mysterious way God wired us to grow.
It is like children. Every parent who has had more than one child discovers that each child will choose to be different. They may share many common characteristics, but each will choose a slightly different path. Do you love any of them any less for being different? No.
Cathy and I have four grandchildren. All of them belong to Cliff and Rachel. Each of them is different in strengths, in personality, in preferences, in style. But we love them all and would feel great loss if one of them were not with us.
In the same way God loves each of us and treasures the uniqueness of each of us as we grow into a likeness of Jesus. It is Jesus’ Spirit shining through the uniqueness God created in each of us individually.
What are some of the signs and characteristics of Jesus’ Spirit that you see in others?
This discipleship journey requires living out of a relationship with Jesus. A branch cannot thrive if it is not connected to the vine. It draws its strength and nutrition from the vine.
How do you connect to Jesus? The last couple of blogs discussed spiritual disciplines as means through which we can nurture a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Which ones are most helpful to you? Which ones have you not tried?
The purpose is not to fulfill commandments or to become spiritual thrill seekers. The purpose is to find and cultivate those habits that encourage your journey with Jesus.
The journey takes time. There is no magic potion or formula that can help us bypass painful and difficult moments to mature in our relationship with Jesus. And often, the most productive periods of our lives in terms of spiritual maturity are times of challenge and difficulty.
Do you remember that old toy called the slinky? It was a circle of wire that resembled a bed spring, but not nearly as stiff or heavy. It became a great toy for playing while I was a kid.
When you stretch out that slinky so that it is a spiral from point A to point B, you have a good image of the journey towards spiritual growth. There are high moments and there are low moments. There are many moments that simply seem to be running in circles, but all of these moments move us towards that Christ likeness God dreams for all of us.
The high moments give us encouragement and celebration. The low moments feed our yearning for something deeper, something more than we currently have. The circling moments keep us moving. No one grows spiritually in a direct line progression. All of us go through the highs and lows of real life discipleship.
All of this takes time, but that is okay. God has all the time God needs to grow us into a likeness of Jesus.
Becoming like Jesus is not a fairy tale. It is not for the faint of heart or the lazy of mind. Usually it is painful. It calls for facing challenge and difficulty. Some of those challenges come from the outside world as simply life happens. Others come from within as God prunes away needless runners and sprouts.
Read James 1:1-4. What examples of testings and trials have you faced? How have these experiences helped you grow spiritually?
Becoming like Jesus is never for our own personal benefit. It always points us toward others. There are others who are mentors and teachers, encouragers and cheerleaders. There are others who need our ministry for them. Each of us must walk our own journey, but it was never meant to be walked alone. Along the way, we encounter others on their journey. We learn from them. We share with them.
All of us need mentors, partners, and students. Who are the people whose example and relationship with you guides your path? Who are the spiritual peers who are not too impressed with your accomplishments, but love you anyway? Who are the people who are watching how you walk your journey? We do not walk alone.
The most important characteristic of spiritual leadership is not their official position, the degrees they have earned, or the titles before their name. It is their journey with Jesus. Acts 4:13: “The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education. They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus.”
Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. It is in relationship with Jesus that we grow and mature into his likeness.
Talk with a peer about characteristics of a mature Christian leader. Which ones of these do you see in your life? What characteristics does God wish to grow in your life?
