Wishful Living
June 9, 2024
John 15:5-17
I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
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Did you know that the Father will give us whatever we ask for in Jesus' name?
It's amazing, isn't it?
But before you go asking for everything under the sun, let's talk about something even better than material possessions. God has something incredible in store for us that goes beyond things that fade away. He lovingly prunes us to help us focus on bearing more fruit and removes distractions from His love and mercy. God prunes sin and junk from our lives to focus us on bearing even more fruit. We have all prayed for answers to both big and small problems, but how often have we prayed, “God, take from me anything that keeps me from you and your will for my life?”
The problem is not that we ask too much from God, but that we expect too little!
In Jesus, God reaches across the gulf between a fallen creation and himself. Instead of leaving us where and how we are, God draws us to himself and each other. Rather than wooing us with the junk food of life, God gives us himself the giver of life.
As we abide in Christ, as his word abides in us, as we begin to live as Jesus commands, the very things we ask become indistinguishable from the heart of God.
Instead of expecting too little from God, we should ask to be closer to His will. In Jesus, God draws us to Himself and gives us the gift of life. As we abide in Christ and live as Jesus commands, the things we ask for become aligned with the heart of God.
