ORANGE —
You may give a number of reasons, such as: “So I can go to heaven when I die”; “to be free from the bondages that once were destroying my life”; “to be free from the guilt of my past”; or “to be an example to my children.” While these may be good reasons, they are not the reason. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should bear fruit...” (John 15:16)
That’s the only reason....because He chose us. If He hadn’t called us we would have had no desire for Him What was so special about us that made Him call us? I’d like to think it was because I had a soft heart toward Him or maybe an obedient heart, but that wasn’t usually the case with the men and women in the Bible. Paul said God chose the foolish things of the world; so none of us were called for our intelligence. Moses was chosen as a baby, but God couldn’t use him until every bit of self-confidence was drained out of him 80 years later. David was the least likely choice of his seven brothers. Solomon was the son of the woman who was involved in sex sin. Rehab was a harlot, Daniel a prisoner of war, Matthew a tax collector, and Paul persecuted the church.
Why did He want me? For fruit! He said so. Today’s church has come up with a lot of reasons, but Jesus said “for fruit.” In many of Jesus’ parables that which separated the righteous from the unrighteous was fruitfulness. Their faith made them do something to build the Kingdom of God. Now fruitfulness is easy. It’s the natural process of being alive. It is just doing what the holy Spirit keeps nudging us to do – helping spiritually those people who are around us every day. Point them to God and help them walk with Him.
It takes no special talent, no special education, no powerful ministry calling. If you can talk and listen (and maybe if you can’t) you can be fruitful. People are not won to Christ in large groups, but one at a time, just like babies are born. They don’t grow in crowds. They grow with personal attention. Whoever heard of hosing off a room full of babies and calling it a bath?
If we don’t talk to people about Jesus, we have missed the whole point.
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