The Only Way
From The Message: Return To Me
In the 15th chapter of the book of John, Jesus spoke of a truth that should mark the heart of every believer: He is the vine and we are the branches. Apart from Him we can do nothing, branches that break away from the vine are dead.
This may sound demoralizing, but the truth is that we were made by Him and for Him; if we don’t have Him then do we have anything? The best version of us is the version where we are the closest to God. We learned from the Prodigal Son that a life apart from the King really isn’t a life at all. Distance from his Father left his heart cold and empty. Yet an even greater lesson came out of the story: the fact that trees can be grafted back onto the vine!
Christians often forget today that we serve a God who really loves us, not just with an indifferent, worldly love, but with an all consuming burning love. The Lord’s greatest desire is to be close to us; He gave up His only begotten Son for that purpose! The Bible talks about how His goodness and mercy continually run after us; He’s in a constant pursuit of His beloved. The Lord exiled His chosen people from the Land He promised to them on two separate occasions in the Old Testament. It’s very clear that He didn’t enjoy doing it, but He would rather His people be exiled and return to relying Him than be living in the land and comfortable in sin. He loves us enough to want what is best for us even when it hurts.
A common question is “why is God so mean in the Old Testament”, but this question is answered beautifully by one of the most touching passages of scripture in the book of Amos. With pain His voice the Lord says: I withheld food from your cities, yet you did not return to me. I sent plagues among you, yet you did not return to me. I overthrew your cities and laid them waste, yet still you did not return to me. I sent drought upon your land— and even then, you would not return. The heart of God is on display in this text; all He wants is for His sons and daughters to come home to Him, and He will go above and beyond to draw them home.
God is calling this generation to be devoted and powerful, but we can do nothing of our own. We can only bear fruit when we are connected to the vine, so return to Him.
• God is not passive, He goes above and beyond to draw us back to HIm
• He is overflowing in love and mercy, He desires to forgive us and change our lives
• We can’t do anything great on our own, we are only powerful when we are connected to Him
