16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other. John 15:16,17
Verse 16 has a lot going on. Paraphrased, God chose me to ‘bear fruit that will last’ AND if I am willing to accept this appointment ‘whatever I ask in Jesus name’ will be granted. Verse 17 not only defines the path for this, Jesus states we must ‘love each other’ as a command. ‘Each other’ or ‘one another’ is everyone we encounter and if we have accepted God’s appointment this becomes doable. I can not imagine any Christian not diligently pursuing whatever it takes to have their prayers granted.
I think most believe they love ‘each other’, but our nature leads us to selectively love those that grant benefits. We can easily look past those that don’t offer relationship rewards. Worse is to have disdain for those we disagree with or don’t understand. The personal rewards of selective love are not necessarily wrong or bad, it’s just not as broad as what we are commanded to do if appointed. One of God’s mysteries are the supernatural rewards we receive when our lives are led by the love of Christ.
Interestingly, Jesus chose the word fruit, one thing that has a known short shelf life, to describe something eternal and emphasizes God continually doing the most with the least! ‘Fruit that will last’ is not our possessions or our money. It is what we do with them and how we invest our time. Tithing your time for the fulfillment of God’s kingdom is more important than tithing your money as said in Scripture numerous times and ways. Don’t expect the blessings of answered prayer if your love for ‘each other’ is not bearing ‘fruit that will last’. To be continued……
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