We've come to the final chapter of this wonderful little book, and it ends appropriately by focusing on the inevitable overflow to others that there is when a believer is truly living the first commandment (loving the Lord with the whole heart and soul and mind and strength) as his first priority. When the first commandment is my primary concern in all my life (i.e., my preoccupation is to wrestle for this reality), then the overflow toward others will be spontaneous and pure because it is the very love of Christ for others that's compelling me, not a religious or fleshly sense of duty.
Just as I love God because He first loved me, so I love others because He first loved them. The second commandment to love others as we love ourselves flows out of the first commandment. God's love must be the source of all self-giving love.
This chapter opens with an interesting sentence: "It is only when we have truly seen the Lord Jesus to be the End that we have come to the beginning of the real Christian life that God has for us." In other words, the more all other ends/goals bow to the one ultimate Goal, Jesus Christ, the more we will walk in fullness of life, experiencing what God has intended for humans who are in vital union with Him to experience. The fullness of Christian life in Christ includes the second commandment, impacting others for Him. As the authors say, "...instinctively everyone who makes this new discovery knows that it is for others."
The authors go on to warn that this chapter could seem to make those of us who live in the climate of law rather than grace feel like we are finally on familiar ground with this topic of outreach and ministry to others. "But no, not even here does grace quit the field. There never comes a time when grace ends and self has to begin again, and this applies to what we call our service as much as to any other part of our Christian lives. In no place do we need to know the Way of Grace more than in the impartation of this Life to others. Our service for our fellows does not come from strained efforts on our part to live for them, but rather from seeing Jesus doing so, and then simply making ourselves available to Him..."
The theme of this chapter is beautifully presented in the last chapter of the Song of Solomon in which we see the Shulammite (who is now experiencing mature love for her Lover) showing concern for her "little sister" who is immature and selfish. As she has matured in intimacy with Him, she begins to see others who are in need of discipling, but she is looking at them with Him, not through the lens of seeking favor or of drivenness to activity, etc. She speaks to her Lover in terms of "our" little sister. In other words, she doesn't see the discipling of the immature one as something that she does apart from Him; she isn't independently running into ministry without His leadership. This immature one is "their" sister. She sees herself in partnership with Him in the discipling of their little sister.
This is a massive truth about our Christian walk; we easily get burnt out with ministry if we aren't intimately partnering with Jesus in it. John 15 is a focus of this chapter. The branch cannot bear fruit apart from vital union with the Vine, and neither can the Vine bear fruit apart from the branches. Such is the intimacy that God wants with His own, and out of that union much fruit comes that will remain.
The fruit God looks for from this union is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the very life of Jesus flowing through us. It's not the fruit of one's natural life straining to live up to the standard of Christ's life, but it's the very life of Jesus within the believer rushing through him out to others so that they touch Christ in us when they encounter us. The fruit of the Spirit can't be imitated; it must be birthed through vital union/connection with Christ in God.
The chapter concludes by addressing what it means to "abide in Christ":
- A willingness to repent quickly when the Holy Spirit convicts us of the sin of assuming the position of the Vine; this ready repentance keeps us in the correct position as a "branch."
- Continually seeing Jesus as the Vine, living and acting for others as the only Source of life in and through us. (We do this through worship and meditation on the Word.)
- Continuous faith that counts on this union with the Vine. This faith doesn't beg to be united to the Vine but rather walks as though it is so because it is so! Faith offers praise and thanksgiving to God for this reality.
- A brokenness and tenderness that continually yields up one's rights and interests to Jesus in order to be available, as a branch, to the Vine.
- Pouring out of love to others, both in words and in actions.
Lord, thank You for grace to keep following Your leadership, no matter how long we have walked with You. I want to continue to learn and grow and mature in Your love. Thank You that this is not only possible in You but that You aggressively fight for us in this journey. We love You!
For at least the remainder of this year, I will be sending out simple weekly thoughts on this blog as I did during the summer months. God bless you this week with His beauty and nearness!
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