The Highest Measure of Love
Let's consider more of Andrew Murray's words. "Sacrifice is the highest measure of love: when a man gives his life, he holds nothing back, he gives all he has and is. It is this our Lord Jesus wants to make clear to us concerning the mystery of His Vine....."
This constant giving is why Jesus pictures Himself as the Vine. Why? Because the Vine is constantly giving the sap, which is it's lifeblood. And it keeps the sap constantly flowing, which of course means it is constantly giving. This illustrates how God gives because it is His nature to give; He can't be God and not give. In the same way, if the branch lives, it also bears fruit. Why? Because it is the branch's nature to bear fruit. The branch always bears fruit. It's not a matter of the branch bearing fruit, or not bearing fruit; the branch always bears fruit. How does it bear fruit? By receiving what the Vine provides.
We Bear Fruit No Matter What
Notice, however, if it is true that the branch bears fruit no matter what, but at some point is not receiving sap from the vine, then the resulting fruit will originate from a different source, and will become the real problem --the main problem--of the branch! The branch is going to bear fruit, but what kind of fruit is it going to bear? It can choose to receive sap from the True Vine and have the true fruit of the character of Jesus reproduced in its life, or it can choose to receive sap from a false, pseudo-substitute source and bear a false, substitute fruit.
Friendship With the Vine
Now Jesus said that we are His friends if we do whatever He commands us. This word "friend" is totally misunderstood. We say we have a host of friends, but that's not really true. Someone said we have many acquaintances in a lifetime, but few friends. I believe that, and would therefore suggest that saying "We have a host of acquaintances" would be more accurate.
It has been suggested that the definition of a true friend is someone who knows all about us and loves us just the same. Can this definition be applied to the people around us? Hardly! The only person to whom this definition applies is Jesus. In John 15:15 Jesus said, "Henceforth, I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his Lord does: but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you." Jesus called us friends. A true friend knows all about you. With this kind of friend there are no secrets; nothing is hidden. That's why we don't have many "true"friends. We have friends, but these are often surface friendships because we don't share the deeper things on our hearts with them. For many of us, the only time we can honestly open our hearts is when we are on our knees, praying.
But notice again Jesus' words in John 15:15, "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his Lord does." Here Jesus was talking to His disciples as friends. Why? Because they were soon going to face a situation that would be unlike anything they had faced before; a situation they could not endure without advance warning; a situation requiring Jesus to open His heart and clearly reveal what was going to take place.
It's a good thing we have Jesus as a true friend. I can tell Him anything about me and He doesn't think bad of me or get rid of me as a friend. Friends in this world are different than Jesus, some we can trust with some of our heart and some we can't trust at all, in fact most of them we can't trust with all our heart except Jesus. I'm so glad I have a friend like Him. Aren't You? We need Him as our true friend all the time and He sticks close by our side when we are walking with Him.
I have lots of acquaintances and I guess if the truth were known, I call them my friends. I love them all but I don't know everything about them and they don't know everything about me. If we did we may not be friends. I would hope that I would be but I don't trust myself, only when abiding with Jesus every day all day.
We need the love of Jesus in our hearts all the time, a love that is willing to give up our life for someone else. I know that is a hard thing to think about but if we truly have the love of Jesus in our hearts, we will be able to love like that, whether we are called to do it or not, I don't know. And let's be sure that we bear the fruits of the Spirit and not some false spirit. I'm sure we have all been guilty of the wrong spirit at times, but let us abide with Jesus every day all day so that we only produce the fruits of His Spirit. Grandma Joan
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