John 15:16: “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.”

March 22nd, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In that day, teachers didn’t pick students but students picked teachers. They would first visit the gathered students of a certain rabbi, listen to the teaching, and then choose which rabbi they wanted to follow. Jesus reversed that order. He told His followers, His students, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” They did not pick Him, He picked them and appointed them that they should “go and bear fruit, and that [their] fruit should remain.”

In the original language, the emphasis is very pronounced toward 3 things about a believer.

1) First, and foremost, they are to “go.” There is a going in the believer’s life that is different from the aimless wandering of the lost, as they move from place to place. The believer moves through life and space with a sense of purpose and mission, realizing their steps are ordered by the Lord. Everywhere that the believer goes, God is there.

2) They are to “bear fruit.” Once again, very simply, Jesus is looking for spiritual fruit from and in our lives.

3) Their “fruit should remain.”

Jesus calls people to follow Him into service. He is the source of our life, the one bearing fruit through us. The branches can’t produce fruit on their own; it is the vine’s job. You and I are to remain connected to the branch, Jesus Christ.

“LORD, we desire to stay connected to You and bring lasting spiritual life to others this day.”