Sometimes we get the absolute wrong idea about God. We sometimes think God is on the brink of giving up on us so sometimes we try to beat Him to it and give up on ourselves. I’m here to tell you today that God never gives up on us. We have been talking about abiding in God. Dwelling with Him, living aware of His love for us and living in the reality of that love every day. We learnt from John 15 that Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches and our Father, Papa God, is the wonderful Vine Dresser.
Last week we learnt that when we get muddy with sin, we can run to our Father who will scoop us up and clean us up. John 15:2 says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” What does that sound like to you? I’ll tell you what I thought when I read John 15:2 for years until my pastors explained it. I thought there are two types of people in that verse. Those who are not producing fruit who God is going to cut off and throw in the fire and those who are producing fruit who get the wonderful gift of pruning. (I say that sarcastically but bear in mind this is old Mel’s thinking, new Mel is saved haha!)
I could not have been more wrong and I am glad I was wrong. Firstly when John 15:2 speaks of those who are not bearing fruit, we read that as though God is mad at them. The verse says nothing about fire but our minds go straight to, God will throw us away if we are not bearing fruit. That is probably why we have churches full of people who are doing stuff but have no relationship with Jesus. People are scared of being thrown away so they become all about works and forget about relationship.
There is a story of two sisters, Mary and Martha, in Luke 10. Martha is working hard to prepare lunch for Jesus and His disciples, she is being the top hostess. Mary is chilling, sitting at Jesus feet and listening to Him speak and this bothers Martha. It bothers her so much she pulls Jesus to the side and pretty much said, “You gonna do something about this? This ain’t fair! I’m doing all the work here. Tell my sister to get off her behind and come help me!” You’d think Jesus would agree, right?
If my reading of John 15:2 was correct it would mean God wants us to be productive and bearing fruit all the time, so we better get to it before we are cut off and thrown in the fire! But no. What did Jesus say to Martha? Luke 10:41 says, “The Lord answered her, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions?”” Do you hear the loving tone of Jesus’ voice?
Jesus called Martha’s busyness a distraction that was pulling her away. Are we using our serving in church and all the things we do for Jesus as a distraction? Are we perhaps living life thinking we are on the brink of being cut off and thrown in the fire so we keep ourselves occupied and we keep “producing fruit” but deep down we are burnt out and exhausted? Because, if so, John 15:2 is good news to us.
John 15:2 in another translation says, “He [Papa God] cares for the branches connected to Me [Jesus] by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest.” Wait a minute, what does God do with fruitless branches? He lifts them up and props them up? This sounds too good to be true. So I went to the original Greek language to investigate. The phrase “he cuts off” from our original translation, which is the NIV, is also translated, “he takes away” in the NKJV which is the Greek word, “airo” meaning to raise up, elevate, lift up or to take upon one’s self and carry what has been raised up.
When God sees us struggling, when God sees us burnt out, at our wits end, not producing fruit, stuck in sin, whatever the situation may be, His reflex is not to cut us off and throw us in the fire. His heart towards us is that He comes and meets us where we are, picks us up, gathers us in His arms, cleans us up and props us up. He carries us. He holds us in His arms. Covers us, protects us and cares for us.
If you can imagine a grape vine. There are some branches which have fallen on the ground after a storm and they are muddy and stuck to the ground. If left there, when the mud dries, they will die. But God in His unending love for us comes, picks up those branches from the ground, washes them with His word to get the mud off them and props them up on the Vine so they can heal and recover. We don’t need to distract ourselves with works and we do not need to strive to be loved by God. We are already loved.
If you have been through a storm or are in a hard place right now, it’s ok. God still loves you and cares for you. He wants to gather you up in His arms, rinse the debris of the storm off you and prop you up so you can heal and recover. God does not expect you to be at a hundred all the time. It is ok to take time to heal and recover in God’s loving and tender arms. John 15:2 is a reminder of just how much God loves us. When we are connected to Him, He will do whatever it takes to take care of us and help us, to restore us and heal us, to free us and deliver us. He really is that good. God is not out to get you; He just wants to help you, if you will let Him.
Love and blessings,
Melissa Tsingano.
Heavenly Whispers Blog 