Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: John 15 and Psalm 48

The big idea of Jesus’ metaphor of the Vine and His branches in John 15 is quite clear: Jesus wants us (His disciples) to remain deeply united to Him in an intimate relationship of fellowship and love.

The metaphor (and Jesus’ explanation thereof) also promises us that our loving intimacy with Jesus will feed and fuel our desire, our resolve and our capacity to live our lives in voluntary and joyful obedience to His teaching; and in deliberate and joyful imitation of His character, values and behaviour; and in joyfully pouring out to others the same love we have received from Him. In all of this, the Holy Spirit will be our Guide (v.26). Unsurprisingly, Jesus also assures us that living in this intimacy will bring us absolute fullness of joy.

It’s important to comment on Jesus’ further assurance that our prayers in His Name will be answered (v.16). BibleRef.com has this excellent explanation:

(A)sking for things “in the name” of Christ … involves speaking on behalf of a greater authority. It does not mean forcing that authority to do what they are not willing to do. A police officer can arrest someone “in the name of the law,” when the government legitimately wants that person to be arrested. They cannot simply use the phrase “in the name of the law” to harass people or invent their own rules. In the same way, Christians are only truly praying “in the name of Jesus” when those prayers are offered in total submission to His sovereign will (John 15:7).

Life Application: Stay alert to opportunities to bless someone with an act of selfless, loving generosity of some kind today. Jesus has been so lovingly generous to us, let’s allow some of that to flow through us to others. And as you do so, notice how abundantly Jesus’ joy is released to you in response.