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A Desire to Remain
Joe Killian • Apr 26, 2018
I really didn't want to leave. I've always said I've wanted to live in a place like this so leaving was tough. This past weekend for Maria's birthday we went to stay with our friends Jan and Andy at their beautiful home at Lake James in North Carolina. Here is the view from their boat dock.
As I have reflected on our time there in light of this Sunday's Gospel, I've gained a fresh understanding of what it means to "remain" in Christ.
Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples." John 15:1-8
Jesus is speaking to His disciples after having shared His last supper with them. He makes it clear that He is the Vine and the disciples, if they remain in Him, are the branches that bear fruit. This "if" has profound implications. Those "branches" that do not remain on the Vine will be thrown out and eventually burned. "If" on the other hand His words remain in them they can ask for whatever they want and they will get it.
That brings me back to the lake house. I experienced a sense of peace and deep connection in this breathtaking place. So much so that I started thinking about what it would be like to live there, to remain there. The connection I felt prompted a strong desire and it set my mind in motion with thoughts of buying a neighboring piece of land. The reality is that right now we couldn't afford to buy it even if we wanted to. But that is not the point of my story.
I prayed to Jesus that I wanted that same strong desire for Him. I want to remain in Him. Will you join me? Imagine Jesus saying to you, "By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
