Attached - Week 3
PRUNNING
I was sitting on the typical church pew, listening to a youth pastor from Tulsa unfold the word of God. Life had me at a crossroads. At the time, I was sixteen years old in my junior year of high school. By this point I had been a Christian for 5 years. This youth pastor expressed to a group of teenagers how much Christ loved them, and of God's relentless pursuit of their lives.
It was different from the typical messages I had heard in the past. It wasn’t about behavior modification or cleaning up your mess. I don't remember every word, even one word for that matter. I simply remember that moment where the gospel of grace was so plain I was led to make a radical shift due to God's radical love.
With wisdom from this youth pastor from Tulsa, I decided God was leading me to surrender some things in my life. The most glaring shift needed to be how I spent my weekends with my friends. I know that sounds simple. Honestly, it took me more than one sermon, on prayer, or conversation to come to that conclusion. Talk about a tough moment followed by an even harder season as a teenager. I was called to follow Jesus, not my friends. The friends I once had slowly became friends of the past.
It was the first time I remember experiencing the pruning hand of God in my life. I was living the reality of John 15:2. For the first time, God cut something away to give way to flourishing.
If I were honest, John 15:2 is hard to understand. How does God prune the branch that makes up our life? Where does he cut away and how? I am sure, out of his great love he has pruned more in my life than I could see in the moment or care to admit.
LOVE
In John 15, Jesus gives an invitation for his disciples to abide in or be attached to his love. He explains how being attached to or abiding in his love means following his commandments. (John 15:10-11) This works because our life in Christ is relational, not transactional. We are not earning his love, rather we are abiding in it. As someone said before, "You can't earn what you already have."
Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love." Sit with that truth for a minute. Jesus, during the last moments with is disciples, doesn't come with strong words of correction. He comes with a strong loving heart.
This doesn't mean Jesus is weak. Quite the opposite is true. Love is the strongest word he can use to describe his relationship with the Father and his disciples. Love then is the strongest action which he would display by "laying his life down for his friends."
...which brings me to the point.
When you come to a crossroads in your life, one of the most loving actions God will take is moving his hand to prune the branch. At the same time, one of the most loving actions we can take is to move our lives in the direction he is calling.
I was sitting on the typical church pew, listening to a youth pastor from Tulsa unfold the word of God. Life had me at a crossroads. At the time, I was sixteen years old in my junior year of high school. By this point I had been a Christian for 5 years. This youth pastor expressed to a group of teenagers how much Christ loved them, and of God's relentless pursuit of their lives.
It was different from the typical messages I had heard in the past. It wasn’t about behavior modification or cleaning up your mess. I don't remember every word, even one word for that matter. I simply remember that moment where the gospel of grace was so plain I was led to make a radical shift due to God's radical love.
With wisdom from this youth pastor from Tulsa, I decided God was leading me to surrender some things in my life. The most glaring shift needed to be how I spent my weekends with my friends. I know that sounds simple. Honestly, it took me more than one sermon, on prayer, or conversation to come to that conclusion. Talk about a tough moment followed by an even harder season as a teenager. I was called to follow Jesus, not my friends. The friends I once had slowly became friends of the past.
It was the first time I remember experiencing the pruning hand of God in my life. I was living the reality of John 15:2. For the first time, God cut something away to give way to flourishing.
If I were honest, John 15:2 is hard to understand. How does God prune the branch that makes up our life? Where does he cut away and how? I am sure, out of his great love he has pruned more in my life than I could see in the moment or care to admit.
LOVE
In John 15, Jesus gives an invitation for his disciples to abide in or be attached to his love. He explains how being attached to or abiding in his love means following his commandments. (John 15:10-11) This works because our life in Christ is relational, not transactional. We are not earning his love, rather we are abiding in it. As someone said before, "You can't earn what you already have."
Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love." Sit with that truth for a minute. Jesus, during the last moments with is disciples, doesn't come with strong words of correction. He comes with a strong loving heart.
This doesn't mean Jesus is weak. Quite the opposite is true. Love is the strongest word he can use to describe his relationship with the Father and his disciples. Love then is the strongest action which he would display by "laying his life down for his friends."
...which brings me to the point.
When you come to a crossroads in your life, one of the most loving actions God will take is moving his hand to prune the branch. At the same time, one of the most loving actions we can take is to move our lives in the direction he is calling.
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