I have to tell the truth about the “License To Kill” devotional from a couple of days ago.
My international travels and crazy work schedule have raised questions about my “job” on multiple occasions. I have a nephew who refuses to believe me when I tell him I DO NOT work for a three-letter government agency. When they were growing up, my kids were regularly asked by their friends if I was a spy. I have a good friend at another church who’s told me he can’t wait for me to “retire” so I can tell him what I REALLY do. An erratic schedule that sends me running to the Middle East or southern Asia every time the fertilizer hits the ventilator doesn’t help dispel the questions. Finally, my comment that I was issued a license to kill in a former occupation even made my sister want to have a conversation with me about my past.
So, let me give you a description that would fit the secular jobs I’ve held for the last thirty years or so.
I am a FIXER.
I FIX PROBLEMS by helping people see things in a new light; sometimes problems they were unaware they even had.
First, I ask questions; a lot of questions. (Sometimes uncomfortable questions.) Then I use the answers to help the people I’m speaking with to see things differently. We re-evaluate their initial assumptions, validating some and eradicating others. Finally, we apply the new insights to FIX THE PROBLEM and IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS.
Let me introduce today’s verse, and then give you an example.
IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND I REMAIN IN YOU, YOU WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING
(I’m really hoping this example works. In the past when I’ve used this example, I have been able to pop the photos on the screen so the people I’m speaking to can see them. Today I’ll just have to describe them.)
My neighbor has quite a green thumb, and some time ago planted two trees in his yard. They were only about ten feet away from one another. Over the next few months, they received the same expert care.
Let me describe the picture of the first one. It is a small tree, standing about four feet high. It has one larger central trunk, with about a dozen or so leaves coming off the main trunk. There is a paper sign at the bottom, it is the kind one normally sees on trees that are displayed in nurseries. The sign simply says “FRUIT.”
After I pop that picture on the screen, I typically ask my audience these three questions:
What kind of tree is it? (It’s a fruit tree.)
How do you know? (It has a sign.)
WHAT KIND OF FRUIT TREE? (No idea, because there is no fruit)
Then I replace the picture of the first tree with the photo of the second one.
The second also stands only about four feet high. This one also has a paper sign at the at the bottom, the kind one normally sees on trees that are displayed in nurseries. It’s sign says “TANGERINES.”
But beyond those similarities there is a stark difference in the photos. Though they looked exactly the same when they were planted, THIS ONE now has several large areas of leaves, including three newly grown branches, each with multiple leaves. More than a dozen small oranges are hanging from its branches. The oranges are still green and not fully developed; but their weight is already putting so much strain on the small tree that my neighbor has had to brace the branches so they can bear the load of the fruit.
After I pop the second picture on the screen, I repeat the same three questions for my audience to answer:
What kind of tree is it? (It’s a tangerine tree.)
How do you know? (It has a sign, but you can also see the fruit.)
Don’t need to ask WHAT KIND OF FRUIT TREE, it is plain to see. In fact, the tree has so much fruit it needs added support so the branches don’t snap.
It’s obvious from the picture that neither the tree nor the fruit are MATURE yet; but that’s OK. I’ll take IMMATURE over EMPTY any day of the week.
Now comes the uncomfortable part. Are you ready??
If there were a tree growing in front of your church — one that accurately reflected the life taking pace on the inside — what would the tree for YOUR CHURCH look like? Yes, your church – where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average, to steal a phrase from Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon?
Here’s another thought? How would an outsider know your church IS a church? Is the fruit evident from the love that your congregation displays for the community? Or would they have to rely on THE SIGN?
But it truly does no good to chat about trees outside of buildings, because the Church is not a building. The real Church is the people who have been washed, justified and sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ, and called to remain in Him and be fruitful.
In other words, the Church is me, and the church is you.
So which one of those trees does YOUR LIFE look like? (I told you some of the questions got uncomfortable.)
Jesus said, IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND I REMAIN IN YOU, YOU WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING
Fruit is the issue. Because Jesus said, “IF you remain in me and I remain in you, then you WILL bear much fruit.” IF – THEN. That’s a positive conditional statement. It’s along the lines of IF you jump into the swimming pool, THEN you will get wet. Or IF you drive your car into the brick wall at 50 miles per hour, THEN it will get damaged. (You probably would, too, by the way; but that is an assumption that may or may not be accurate, while the IF/THEN statement is totally accurate.)
What I’m saying is this: the result will automatically follow the meeting of the condition.
So, examine your life. Ask yourself the question, “Am I bearing fruit?” Jesus said you would, if you were in Him and He was in you. If you’re not seeing the fruit that Jesus promised, then you need to examine if the conditions He described apply to you and your life. If not, then changing the condition is an easy thing to do.
If you are not “IN HIM” and He is not “IN YOU” both of those situations can be changed with a single prayer. He is ready, willing and most certainly able to come into your life. He’s simply awaiting your invitation. Once you invite Him in as your Lord, He will begin to work in you, on you and through you. His life in you will bear fruit. He said so; and He never lies.
To wrap up the story of the two trees. The second tree continued to grow stronger and stronger. It bore a lot of fruit, very sweet tangerines. It continues to do so today. The first tree never amounted to anything. Despite the care of my neighbor, it never blossomed, and never bore any fruit at all. Eventually, my neighbor ripped it out of the ground and tossed it in the garbage.
I’ll bet there’s a lesson in there somewhere.
IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND I REMAIN IN YOU, YOU WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT; APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING
