I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless. If a person is separated from me, he is discarded; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire to be burned. But if you live in life-union with me and if my words live powerfully within you—then you can ask whatever you desire and it will be done.
John 15:5-7 TPT
Jesus explains that we are powerless without him. The world gives us power and authority and wealth. So when Jesus explains that if we live with the rules of the world, outside of him, the power we have is meaningless. It is not the same sort of power that Jesus refers to.
Jesus explains that if we follow him, we may ask what we desire and it will be given to us. The world teaches this differently. The world says that you should work really hard and make a lot of money. If you do this well, you can buy what you desire.
But you can’t buy happiness. We think money makes life easier and therefore happiness follows. But the reality is this is not the case.
Jesus lays out a different path. His path has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with happiness and an abundant life that fulfills our desires.
These words are difficult to accept. A willing soul learns these words are true. A soul who only goes part of the way finds disappointment.
I first heard a man speak about what this way of life looked like a lot of years ago. This man stood in front of about 100 men and explained that the amount of work you did had no bearing on your standard of living. That statement contains no logic. My head tells me that if I work hard, I make more money and therefore my standard of living is improved. Yet this man explained this was not the case. I found myself listening in frustration as my head kept arguing that work and standard of living must be connected.
His point was made with several instances of God’s realm such as sickness, a death, actions that were simply out of our control. His claim was that God controls every aspect of our life and as a result, only God determines our standard of living.
Years later I came to accept his premise. And now I believe this man was correct.
You will too if you struggle with the lack of logic within this premise for long enough.
This verse in John is the basis for understanding what it is we desire and how it is obtained. It starts with abiding in Christ with every aspect of life. Reading God’s word and making modifications to our daily life to model our character to be more Christ-like. When we do this, we find a new life. It’s a life that opens the doors to Heaven right here on this planet.
When we dive into this new life, it becomes obvious that there is no connection between work and our standard of living. That is true for us and everyone else. The world will never accept this premise. God’s kingdom shows us a better way where abundance is promised and that promise is fulfilled.
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