Today’s Daily Bread ~ Connected

John 15:5 – “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.”

A few Saturdays ago, I enjoyed a morning where I didn’t wake up before 5am.  As I lied there, snuggled under the covers, debating whether or not to get up, I heard the sound of little feet pattering down the hallway.  Moments later, my son, with tussled hair and sleep in his eyes, climbed into bed and nestled into my arms.  Decision made.  I stayed.

I breathed in deeply, smelling the sweet baby smell of his hair.  I felt his small body inhale and exhale, then relax as he fell back asleep.  The wave of love that washed over and through me was indescribable. 

I thought back to both of my pregnancies; how I would lie there in the evenings with my hands on my stomach and wait for a kick.  I remembered them as infants, and how my milk would let down at the sound of their cries.  As I cradled Nick in my arms, I thought, “The connection doesn’t break when they cut the umbilical cord.  I am just as connected to my children as I was when I carried them.”

There is a very special bond between parents and their children.  When one of my children is struggling, I have to physically hold myself back from swooping in.  When another child says something mean to Caitlyn, it hurts my feelings more than hers.  And when they accomplish something on their own, I’m proud enough to burst.  The bond of love is a truly powerful thing.

Chapters 14, 15 and 16 of John’s Gospel are easy to spot in my Bible.  The pages are thinned from reading, and re-reading.  Many verses have been highlighted, underlined, or both.  Jesus is teaching with love, compassion, and urgency, for the time of His crucifixion is near.  He knows the trials awaiting His beloved disciples.  He knew that in order to stay strong, they must cling to Him.  “I have love you, even as the Father has loved me.  Remain in my love.  When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in His love (John 15:9-10).

Just as an unborn child is physically connected to their mother, so are we connected to the Father, through His Son.  In Genesis 2:7, Scripture tells us that the LORD God formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life.  And the man became a living person.  Billy Graham suggests, in his book The Journey, that God imparted a piece of His Spirit into man at that moment, forever connecting Himself to us.  We simply cannot find fulfillment outside of Him.  We can never be satisfied with earthly things.  Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one can come to the Father except through me (John 14:6)” 

God gives each of us a conscience, to tell us right from wrong.  And He gave us just enough of His Spirit to leave us wanting more.  That desire for more can only be filled by His Son.  In order to receive the peace we yearn for, we must submit to His will, and remain in His love.  We can only bear fruit while connected to the power of the Holy Spirit.  Through faith in Jesus Christ, all is possible.

“But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!  My disciples produce much fruit.  This brings great glory to my Father (John 15:7-8.)”

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the words of Jesus.  Thank you loving us in such a radical, unfathomable way!  Help us to love others just as selflessly, Lord.  God, we ask that You would reveal Yourself to us in some way today, and don’t let us miss it!  Let us truly sense Your Presence, and help us to abide in it.  Keep us connected to You, God.  Prune us to bear more fruit.  Bless us to be a blessing to others.  Let others see Christ in us, Lord.  Help us to be Your hands and feet.  Above all else, Lord, we simply ask that You would wash over us and through us, filling us until we overflow, spilling Your love on those around us.  We thank You in advance, as we ask these things in the most holy name of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.