What Jesus Does

"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. ¹⁷ These things I command you, that you love one another."

John 15:16-17

These things Jesus told His disciples during their celebration of the Passover are true for His followers today.  Whilst instructing His followers Jesus also emphasised their calling.  In choosing to pursue Christ as disciples we can mistakenly place our primary focus on what we have done and what we must do, but the words of Jesus remind us of His divine role.

Jesus corrected the disciples' thinking they had chosen Him because Jesus had chosen them first.  He knew them before they knew Him; He first called them and then they followed.  He chose them and appointed (ordained, commissioned) them to go and bear fruit which would remain.  Having supplied the good seed of the Word of God, it would doubtless bear much fruit according to the design of Jesus Christ.  Jesus also appointed them to pray to God, and whatever they asked in Jesus' name would be given.

See all the things Jesus did for His disciples before they even knew Him?  He chose and ordained them, He formulated a plan for them, and ensured they would be successful.  Do you realise as a child of God He has done the same for you?  You do not need to graduate from seminary, become a foreign missionary, or have a ministry position recognised by men to be eternally fruitful.  All we do is within the context of God's love, loving one another as He loves us.  Disillusionment comes when we figure fruitfulness depends primarily upon our efforts.  We imagine "fruit" to be immediate and qualitative and forget seeds take time to grow.  There is danger in departing from the good Word for anything else in an effort to accomplish our plans rather than seeking God.

I am blessed to know God has chosen me, ordained me, and commissioned me to go and bear fruit.  I am humbled to have access to God's throne room of grace to find mercy and help in time of need.  Since I am called to love as Jesus does and cannot do this without Him, how necessary it is to seek Him.  Looking outside on this spring morning, God knows how to make seeds germinate, flowers bloom, and trees flourish with new growth.  Won't He also do marvellously with His Word in the hearts of those prepared to receive Him?