Some of us
may be wondering about our fruitfulness when we reflect on our weeks of service.
Everyone asks us about our summer. Some of us can say, "Several of my campers made
salvation decisions.” Others of us say, "God gave me opportunities to
witness." We also talked about things God
did in our own hearts.
For me, I struggled with faith in God’s ability to work
in and through me at different points this summer. This testimony is borne out of reflections that I trust will help remind myself and everyone of necessities we must draw on daily.
For years I
have read, meditated on, and prayed back portions of Jesus’ words in John 15
about abiding in Him and thus being a fruitful branch. John 15:16 in particular
has been an inspiring verse to me. I was happy when my mission team adopted it
as our verse for the summer:
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you
that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that
whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”
Whose standard of fruitfulness am I
measured by?
I am
measured by God’s standard. He is the Husbandman. He chose and accepted me into
His family because I believed in His Son—the Vine. When I find myself comparing
my fruit-bearing with members of my team, church, etc., I am being foolish. Other
believers may “provoke me to love and good works,” but they are not the measure
of my good works, nor my motivation. My brothers and sisters in Christ are
branches themselves. Any good fruit borne out of any of our lives has its
source in God—“for apart from Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:4-5).
This summer, I came to understand in a deeper
way the importance of two means which the wise Husbandman gave to help me abide
in the Vine as a fruitful branch: meditating on His Word and fellowship with
other believers.
Meditation
and Memorization of the Word
On Sundays,
other teachers and my summer team gathered for Word study and memorization. The
first thing everyone did was recite Genesis 22, the passage that foreshadows
God offering up His only Son for us in the type of Abraham offering up Isaac.
It was precious having the truths of that passage quoted aloud in my ears and
resonating in my mind at different points of the summer.
Since my
return to the States, I have attempted to meditate frequently on God’s Word.
(If you see me, please ask me how my memorization of Isaiah 53 is going).
Another great way to reflect on Scripture is to listen to hymns or to sing them.
One hymn that came to mind after Dr. Newton spoke in chapel on the topic of
“What is your glory?” was “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee”:
“Jesus our only joy be Thou, as Thou our prize shalt be.
Jesus be Thou our glory now and through eternity.”
After other messages, I have found it easy to get distracted with the next thing on my
schedule. This instance where the Word was still lingering in my heart was such
a great encouragement—and something that I knew was a work of the Spirit. (I am
sure there are people reading this entry now who have had similar experiences.
Please feel free to share them!)
Fellowship
with Other Believers
My siblings
in Christ and I are connected to the same Life source, yet I am often not aware
of the need we share to uphold one another. In Hebrews 3:12-13, the Spirit
warns us of the danger of a hard heart through the deceitfulness of sin. In
order to counteract the tendency to listen to our flesh and shut out God, we
are commanded to “exhort one another daily, while it is called today”. From my
experience this summer, that meant a person - who was filled with the Spirit - sensing
that I needed exhortation. I am thankful that God has placed several true,
Christian friends around me whose words and deeds frequently challenge me about
of the importance of meditating on God and His Word.
In
conclusion, any good fruit borne out of our lives has had its source in God.
Let’s continue to ponder the lessons God has taught us through His Word, other
people’s ministry to us, and our personal ministry this past summer. And, let
us “press on” to know Christ more intimately as we strive to bear fruit by His
grace this fall.
Joanna McLaughlin
