This week, we have been addressing the distorted view of God
as the cosmic slot machine. We have been looking at a section of an account of
Jesus life that is recorded for us in the Bible called the gospel of John. In this
section of this account of Jesus life, Jesus has been telling His disciples a
parable, involving
vines and how they grow.
Jesus explained that, vinedressers, or gardeners who grow grapes understand
that pruning is necessary for any vine if it is going to bear fruit. And
vinedressers or gardeners
understand that dead wood is dangerous for the vine, as dead wood can harbor
disease and decay. And because of that reality, the vinedresser, or gardener, removes everything
that is not a true branch that would bear fruit.
In addition, a vinedresser, or gardener, understands that an
untrimmed vine will develop long rambling branches that produce little fruit
because most of the strength of the vine is given to growing wood instead of
fruit. And because the vinedresser or gardener is concerned that the vine be healthy and
productive, they will prune the vine so that it can bear more fruit.
Jesus used this word picture to explain that God removes the
dead wood from His church and is at work in the life of followers of Jesus so
that they will reveal and reflect Jesus in their day to day lives. And the
message and teachings of Jesus are the means by which He works in our lives to
prune and clean away areas of our lives so that we can be more fruitful.
In addition, Jesus commanded the disciples, and followers of Jesus
throughout history, to remain connected to Jesus. Jesus then reveals the reason
behind His command: “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides
in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me”. You see, the
issue for Jesus is fruitfulness.
The issue for Jesus is that His followers reveal and reflect Him. And to
reveal and reflect Jesus we must remain connected to Him, because as Jesus
makes unmistakably clear in verse 5, apart from Me you can do nothing. In other
words, we are unable to reveal and reflect Jesus in a way that advances His
kingdom and makes much of Him apart from remaining connected with Him.
The
image that Jesus is conveying to His disciples and us today is one of openness.
Just as a vine forces life and nutrients into the branches to cause growth,
Jesus wants to pour Himself into us so that we can grow and bear fruit for Him.
What Jesus is asking us to do by remaining in Him is to simply be open to
receive from Jesus what He wants to pour into us.
When
God prunes and cleans us through His word, He makes us more open to receive
what Jesus desires to pour into us. Jesus desires that we remain connected to
Him so that He can pour Himself into us so that we reveal and reflect Him in
our character and conduct in a way that enables us to be the vehicle that He
uses to reveal Himself to the world. Jesus unpacks this for us in John 15:7-11:
"If you abide
in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done
for you. "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.
"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have
kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. "These things I have
spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
Here we see Jesus reveal
for the reality that as we remain connected to Jesus and open ourselves to
allow Jesus to pour Himself into us, the result is that we will reveal and
reflect Jesus by producing the fruit that reveals our relationship with Jesus.
We will live our lives in a way that is focused on bearing fruit for God and
making much of God through our obedience to God.
Jesus then explained to
His disciples that God will respond to the life that is focused on living in
obedience to God in a way that advances the kingdom of God and makes much of
God. God enters into such a life in a way that we experience the love of God
and the joy that comes from being connected with God. And it is here, in
this event from history involving a word picture of the eternal connection that
we can have with God as a result of placing our confident trust in Jesus, that
we discover a timeless truth that can enable us to rid ourselves of the
distorted view of God as the cosmic slot machine. And that timeless truth is
this: We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot
machine instead of the green-thumbed gardener.
The
timeless reality is that we have a distorted view of God when we view God as
the cosmic slot machine. We have a distorted view of God when we view both God
and life are viewed as being one big gamble. We have a distorted view of God
when we view God as the cosmic slot machine where life has little to do with
love and instead is all about luck. We have a distorted view of God when we
view God as the cosmic slot machine where you win sometimes, you lose sometimes,
and, at the end of the day, the best you can hope for is to break even at the
end of your life.
We
have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine that
leads us to hedge our bets and play it safe for fear that we could lose it all.
We have a distorted view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine because
those who play it safe and hedge their bets on life never really live life
because those who decide to play it safe; those who hedge their bets on God
never really know God.
However,
unlike the cosmic slot machine, a more accurate view of God is that of the
green-thumbed gardener. You see, a more accurate view of God is that of the
green-thumbed gardener who is intimately involved in our lives. Just like a
green-thumbed gardener, God cannot garden from a distance. Instead, it is the
trusting, intimate involvement of God in our lives that results in us growing.
A
more accurate view of God is that of the green-thumbed gardener who is actively
at work in our lives. Just like a green-thumbed gardener, God is actively at
work in our lives to cut and prune any branches that are dead and fruitless
that can take away nutrients from the rest of the plant. Our responsibility is
to remain open and in a position where God can pour Himself into us.
However,
just as a branch cannot see the rest of the garden, as finite human beings, we
cannot see the big picture. And as a result, our temptation is to view life as
a series of random unconnected events that are driven by luck, instead of
recognizing the reality that God is actively at work in a through what seems to
be random to grow and mature us. A more accurate view of God is that of the
green-thumbed gardener who is never done with us but who knows and cares for
every branch. And our responsibility is to grow and give of ourselves to the
life that has been given to us by God as He cares for us.
You
see, when we abide in God; when we remain connected to God as the green-thumbed
gardener, that connectedness to God starves our selfishness. As Jesus reveals
for us, we survive, grow and bear the fruit, or the results that are produced
in our lives, only by the hand of the green-thumbed gardener God in our lives.
So here is a question to consider: Which of these two views
describe how you view God? Do you view God as the cosmic slot machine? Do you
view as the cosmic slot machine where God and life is one big gamble? Do you
view God as simply the cosmic slot machine where life has little to do with
love and instead is all about luck?
Or do you view God as the green-thumbed gardener? Do you view God as the green-thumbed gardener
who is intimately and actively involved in our lives? Do you view God as the green-thumbed gardener
who is never done with us but who knows and cares for every branch? Are you
willing to remain open and in a position where Jesus can pour Himself into us
as God as the green-thumbed gardener is at work in us to produce the fruit, or
the results that come from a growing and maturing relationship with Jesus?
Because the timeless reality is that we have a distorted
view of God when we view God as the cosmic slot machine instead of the
green-thumbed gardener…
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