"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." --John 15:5 (nkjv).
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. --Galatians 5:22, 23 (nkjv).
WE LIVE in a world of people who too often don't understand or know one another. It's even hard sometimes to know those who may be close to us by blood, marriage or friendship. When it comes right down to it, we don't always know ourselves that well.
Too often, the person who believes he knows himself is the one who doesn't. Time and experience can give us insight. Perhaps this agrees with the thought we come to understand "The more I know, the more I realize I don't know."
Life can be complex and people are complex, but perhaps the main reason we can't know another perfectly is because we are not mind-readers. Nor can we always be aware of someone's true feelings. Body language and facial expression give clues to feelings sometimes; yet we don't always interpret these correctly.
WARS, DIVORCES, and all manner of problems result from the misreading of people's intentions, thoughts, feelings, and motives. To complicate matters even further, the selfish nature of man (since his fall in the beginning) makes it even harder to deal with this problem of misunderstandings.
Counselors of all kinds have worked with such human limitations for thousands of years. They learn enough about human nature to provide some aid in dealing with problems caused by misunderstandings or misinterpretations. But we are essentially limited in what we can do for other humans, no matter how much we educate ourselves on the subject of human nature. Since only God can read minds, we are necessarily dependent on Him for better answers.
Why man thinks he can know himself or anyone else witout the heavenly Interpreter is a mystery to many Christians. Some seem to believe they have enough wisdom to take care of all the world's problems if only people will listen. The trouble is, we do have a few answers, but not enough to end all wars, crime, injustice, unkindness, and so forth.
We are definitely limited by our own natures, which are basically selfish no matter what some men might tell you. Be honest. Are you always full of pure motives, without a taint of self? The big problem here with many people is they believe serving self is not wrong. This principle, when you examine it closely, proves to be the underlying cause of all the misery in this world.
COMMUNICATION channels need to be kept open between us and others always. Listening is an art that can be developed in each of us. Yet, our selfish natures, again, are a big problem. Humility or meekness is not natural to us. How many times do we refuse to listen to reproof or advice because we do not respect the person who is speaking? Or we may feel inconvenienced by the time or place chosen. Have we developed the habit of refusing to listen to certain people or to anyone who offers advice of reproof?
If we believe someone has misinterpreted our feelings, motives, actions or words; we may be prone not to listen to them. Yet, there may be something about them we've misinterpreted. After all, we cannot read their minds anymore than they can ours.
It pays to consider a person innocent of impure motives when they speak to us. It is better to read good things in between the lines, instead of evil. It's not easy to do this, if we believe we've been abused by someone in the past. Yet, people can truly have good intentions and speak the wrong words or commit wrong acts. We need to always consider this.
Yes, people are capable of misusing us and manipulating to get what they want. We may wish to avoid such people. but those with whom we must deal, and especially those who we are sure care about us, we need to try to understand and keep from misjudging.
Can we somehow force ourselves to do this? Some persons may believe they can rely on willpower, but we are limited in our capacity to have much control over our selfish natures. It's not natural to be completely free of selfish thoughts; yet through our Saviour we can start on the road toward this goal.
JESUS is the answer to misunderstandings. The world is full of people who refuse to cooperate with the Lord who created and redeemed them. Yet, if we are among those who earnestly desire to be one with our Lord, we will gain a much greater capacity for oneness with those who are also desiring the same goal. The compassion of Jesus must take over our sinful natures. Misunderstandings are the result of that nature, and when the divine nature begins to control us, misunderstanding can be eliminated.
The main secret of success in this direction is to be a humble, compassionate listener. Remember, peace of mind will never come to a stubborn, willful disposition. Sometimes we fail to pray in every situation. When we're under pressure it's difficult to pray as we ought or recall to mind texts that will give us peace and humility. That's why it's so important to feed often upon God's word, so our minds will recall HIs words when we need them most.
You and I want to be understood by others, and to understand ourselves better. As we search our own hearts and try to be honest in dealing with our own shortcomings, perhaps we will be better equipped to understand others.
We will learn to be humble, loving listeners, and we will realize another's motives for speaking to us are just as loving as ours. And if, perchance, they aren't, if we're kind enough to listen to them, we just might make friends out of enemies.####
Many people tend to use their physical strength and mental capacities, gifts from God, to glorify self. After almost six thousand years, the majority still try to run their own lives, even though they accomplish very little.
When the Lord controls our lives, we can accomplish so much more. We need to pray, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O, Lord, my strength and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14).
God "giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength...But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:29, 30). God's promises will be fulfilled in us and for us, if we seek to do His will.
"All who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God will be constantly receiving a new endowment of physical and mental power. The inexhaustible supplies of heaven are at their command. Christ gives them the breath of His own spirit, the life of His own life. The Holy Spirit puts forth its highest energies to work in heart and mind. The grace of God enlarges and multiplies their faculties, and every perfection of the divine nature comes to their assistance in the work of saving souls. Through cooperation with Christ they are complete in Him, and in their human weakness they are enabled to do the deed of Omnipotence" (Desire of Ages, Pg. 827).
But some have hidden fears. To those who face life with fear, God says, "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10).
With God's promises to sustain us, how can any doubt God's willingness to supply all needed strength in every temptation and trial? The fullness, richness, and splendor of His character is offered to us. As we assimilate the promises in His word by daily feeding on them. we will become like Jesus in character.
"But Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of character is an easy matter. A noble, all-around character is not inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned by individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. God gives the talents, the powers of the mind, we form the character. It is formed by hard, stern battles with self. Conflict after conflict must be waged against heriditary tendencies. We shall have to criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one unfavorable trait to remain uncorrected" (Christ's Object Lessons, pg.331).
The battle in this life is real, and God can't empower anyone who refuses to strive for victories each day. Yet, this warfare can only be fought by having faith in Christ's strength. Just as the victories Christ won while on earth were gained by His faith in the Father's strength, so this gift of faith must be exercised by our choices and determination to serve the Lord. In this process our will comes into harmony with His.
When our wills are in harmony with Christ and we allow the Holy Spirit to abide in us, we can be joyful in the midst of suffering. When we finally reach heaven, we will consider our time of suffering as only a moment compared to eternity. If we realize this now, God can give us peace of mind, for the Son of God suffered here on earth to make our salvation possible. Heaven is worth it all.
We can never accomplish in our own strength all that God may accomplish in and through us. Our human tendency is to rely on our own powers at least most of the time. For example, we try to use our own words when we reason with someone or we foolishly rely on our weak willpower to control our appetites and passions. Some do seem to possess a strong natural willpower to resist temptation and have the ability to accomplish a great deal without the aid of strength that comes from above. Yet, these very people are eventually ovecome by the delusions of pride and forget that all talents and abilities come from their Maker. We've nothing worthwhile which doesn't rightfully belong to Him--through creation and redemption.
Thus, no matter how weak or strong we believe we are, we need God's divine power. We can do nothing of real worth without Him. We must become "partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4).
"The carnal heart must be crucified, for its tendency is to moral corruption, and the end thereof is death. Nothing but the life-giving influences of the gospel can help the soul. Pray that the mighty energies of the Holy Spirit, with all their quickening, recuperative, and transforming power, may fall like an electric shock on the palsy-stricken soul, causing every nerve to thrill with new life, restoring the whole man from his dead, earthly, sensual state to spiritual soundness. You will thus become partakers of the divine nature" (Testimonies, Vol.5, pg. 267).
God gives us divine power to make us overcomers. In these end times, the Lord desires to have a people who serve Him as did Enoch--who walk so closely they will walk right into heaven without seeing death when Christ returns.
Let's not limit the Lord by dwelling on our weaknesses. Of course, we are unable, in our own strength, to fulfill the broad requirements of a law that reaches into our thoughts and motives. Yet, God offers divine power to reach deeply within us and uproot everything foreign to His loving character. We are to look "unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24). Fill your mind with His words each day, and God will do the "impossible" for you. He will give you Super Divine Strength.#####
If we are to bear fruit to the glory of our Maker, we will need to have a vital connection with Him, just as the branch has a connection with the vine (see John 15).
The trees draw their life-giving nourishment in food and water deep in the soil. We receive our spiritual nourishment from an abiding sense of the Lord's presence in our personal lives.
For a constant supply of this needed food and water, and in order to grow in grace, we need the word of God. The Spirit of Christ speaks to us most clearly through the messages of His written word.
A personal prayer life is essential. The commuication must be two-way, or we will fail to obtain all we need to make the necessary character development. We were created in His likeness in the beginning, and our Saviour longs to restore us completely--spiritually, mentally, and physically.
Though physical restoration cannot take place until the second coming of Jesus, we can and must allow Him to change our characters now. We may be transformed by His mighty power working in us. The life and sacrifice of Jesus has made this possible.
His condescension, as the Son of God, to become the Son of man, made the plan of redemption possible. He lived as a man, depending on His Father in heaven for power to live a perfect life. The sinless One bore our sins, and died the cruelest of deaths with the weight of all men's sins on his shoulders. He took a risk, so we might have the chance to be redeemed from the slavery of sin. Forgiveness, yes--but He offered more than forgiveness. He made it possible for us to be saved from our sins, to be set free from our bad habits, our selfish natures.
If we let our Saviour take our burdens, all of them, He will rid us of the selfish tendencies of our nature. First, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin in our lives. He empowers us to repent, confess, and forsake these personal sins, if we allow Him to do so. Sometimes the process is long, and the struggle is tremendous. If we persevere, we will win each battle. Yet, without Christ we can do nothing.
Our Creator and Redeemer has more love for us than a mother has for her child. He will not forsake us, if we respond to the still, small voice. And even if we rebel against Him, He will do all He can to bring us back into His loving embrace. If we are lost at last, it will be our own fault. Yet, be assured, the Lord works with us as long as there is a shred of hope we will turn to Him.
As we respond to His calling, we can see Him in nature by studying the beautiful things He created. We can view Him in the gospels, and in the entire Scriptures. If we look carefully, we can see His love in the ten commandments He wrote on tables of stone. The Lord is near us and works in us, if we are awake to His voice. We become aware of His presence through the ministry of the angels to us--the same angels that dwell near His heavenly throne.
Our faith grows stronger, our joy increases, our love expands, and our peace is sweeter, as we keep our eyes on the lovely Jesus and seek to imitate Him in everything we do and say and think.
Heaven will be our home-- building, planting, learning, growing. Unselfish ambitions will be realized. Joyous enterprises may be undertaken. Dearest friendships will be known. And as eternity rolls onward we increase in our appreciation of the wonderful love of God.