Revive Us, Lord: A Journey Through John 13-16Sýnishorn

I remember the exact moment when I became a father. I was in the delivery room with my wife. She had a long labour, and her pregnancy was very challenging (for all 3 of my kids). Then, the moment arrived. It was time to push. Having been diagnosed with anxiety disorder a couple of months earlier, I was amazed that God granted me “peace beyond understanding” during the birth of all 3 of my sons. Never once did I have a panic attack in the delivery room.

I grabbed my wife’s hand as I cheered her on in her delivery. It took a while, but finally, my first son was born. I’ll spare you the gory details of all the other things that came out with the baby. The doctor carried him up and asked me to cut the umbilical cord. I thought to myself, “Am I not paying you to do that?” Anyway, the nurse cleaned my son up, wrapped him up in towels, and finally handed him over to me. In the twinkle of an eye, I became a father. I remember thinking to myself - God has appointed my wife and me to steward this life until the day we return to the Lord. Such a holy responsibility has been given to us!

In today’s passage, we read these famous words - Christ has appointed us to go and bear fruit that will last. Yesterday, we saw that the fruit Jesus was talking about is in the context of loving one another as He had loved us. He has appointed us to bring relational wholeness wherever we are placed - to love and serve others as He had loved and served us. What a privilege that is!

If you are in a cell group, God has placed you there because you have been appointed to love and serve the people in your cell group the way Christ loved and served you. If you are a part of a ministry, God has placed you there because you have been appointed to serve and love the ministry people. If God has placed you in a particular company, it is because He has appointed you to love and serve the people there so that the Father can be glorified.

Wherever you are placed, God has appointed you to be there in order to love the people there and to serve them! This can be daunting at times, especially if you are an introvert or if you are not comfortable relating with people. Practically speaking, what can you do to love and serve those whom God has appointed to you?

The first step is always to get to know the people first. Be willing to share lives with each other… to go deeper in conversation instead of the usual “hi” and “bye” types of conversation. For a change, ask, “how is it going with your kids?” or “how are you coping with the stress involved with this job?”. Ask deeper questions, and when people open up to you, you will then have an opportunity to love and serve them.

Once you are able to talk deeply with them, challenge yourself to love them practically. For example, take over parenting duties so that the young couple can have some timeout with each other. Or take over company duties from an individual who is stressed out. Or, offer to spend more time with an individual who is struggling in his/her life. When we do these things, God is glorified because we love as Christ loved. He stopped for the woman at the well, for Jairus’s daughter, for the non-Israelite centurion, for the demon-possessed man, for the widow who just lost her son…

Jesus didn’t just love with words. He loved practically. He went above and beyond himself to love. We should too! He appointed us specifically for this! Let us then be good stewards of the various relationships in our lives. You have been appointed!

Reflection

• Ponder: What were some of the fruits that Christ produced while He was here on this earth?
• Ask the Lord to show you 3 individuals at your workplace or school that you can invest your life into. What are the practical ways you can love these individuals?

Application

Let us be intentional in our relationships because we have been appointed to bear fruit in these relationships. Let us do away with superficiality and let us love and serve fervently.