I Am–Purpose

Introduction

Living the connected life is something that each of us is familiar with. We are because we live in the most connected time in the history of the world. We are so connected that we have now become disconnected. We have become disconnected because we stay connected to a screen to find connection with others.

How often are you with loved ones or friends, and you find your face buried in your phone? Let’s be honest; this happens more often than we want to admit. In our desire to find connection, we miss connection. We strive to be connected through so-called “Social Networking,” but we have become disconnected.

We have separated ourselves in our search for a deeper connection with others. We are no longer together when we are together. We may physically be in the same room as one another, but we are not together. For us being the most connected age in the history of the world, we are more lonely and disconnected than people from the first century.

Sadly, our disconnect with one another is just part of our problem. We are a world that is profoundly disconnected from the true vine. We have been separated from the vine by these new ways of being connected.

How so? Well, first, we think we can be connected by watching a television sermon. This has separated us from one another and the Lord because our accountability is lowered.

Secondly, we think a verse-a-day app will give us enough strength for the day. We receive these in the morning or evening and think that one verse with who knows what context will strengthen us.

Lastly, we think a person on YouTube sitting in their car is giving us wisdom. This one is the worst, but so many follow this type of thinking and reasoning. These guys are usually whacked out and have some weirdest concepts and thoughts. But people who have stopped seeking a connection with other believers and only read one out-of-context verse a day always fall for these people’s teachings.

We need true connection to the True Vine. We need true connection to fellow believers. We need a connection in life that gives us genuine purpose. We find this connection in the True Vine: Jesus Christ.

In John 15:1-8 we read of this connection.

John 15:1–8 ESV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

In our connection with this True Vine, we find there is a purpose and necessity to have a connection. The first purpose we find in this connection is that there is purpose in pain.

Purpose in Pain

We see from verses one through three that there may be pain in our connection to the True Vine. Jesus said, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (15:2). In this verse, we see that there will be pain in our connection with the True Vine.

Now, I believe the translation of “taken away” takes away from what is truly happening here. I don’t think that this is precisely correct. The word here can mean take away or lift up. The word “prune” is the same word but has a prefix. It is the word kathairo, whereas “take away” is airo. Kathairo is where we get our word catharsis from, which means to cleanse. We see a play on words here. The word “prune” can also mean purge, cleanse, or purify. But we most commonly know it as cutting away dead or useless parts of a tree or bush.

If that is part of the meaning, then if unfruitful branches are taken away, it seems Jesus would have used the same language for fruitful branches rather than making a play on words.

Since “take away” can mean lift up, what does that mean for this section? With the vineyard, the vinedresser would go through and prune away little offshoots. Still, if a branch was unfruitful on the ground, he would lift it up and tie it to another fruitful branch higher up. By doing this, the unfruitful branch would receive more light and nourishment and may begin to be fruitful.

The branch could become as productive and fruitful as possible when this happens, just like the pruned branches. When they were pruned, the vinedresser removed dead and unproductive shoots. He did this because “Dead wood harbors insects and disease that may cause the vine to rot.”[1]

In our lives the removal or lifting up to a position may be painful for us. Think about your life. Are there any unproductive aspects that you may not want to cut out? Is there anything that would make you uncomfortable if you were removed from and lifted up to be with other believers rather than where you are?

When we are taken away from the unfruitful position we are in and lifted up to be with others who are fruitful, it can be painful because the small and unproductive aspects of our lives will be revealed and cut free as we are bound to fruitful believers who reveal how unfruitful we were.

Jesus wants us to bear tons of fruit because we glorify Him and the Father when we do this. Look at verse three. In it, Jesus told the disciples and us, “You are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (15:3). We have heard and received His Word. Just as he told Peter back in chapter thirteen when Peter told Him He was not washing his feet. The Lord told Peter if He did not, Peter could have no part with Him. So Peter said to wash all of him, but Jesus said, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash except for his feet, but is completely clean” (13:6-10).

We are clean if we are in Christ, but our feet may have become dirty and need purging. Maybe we have become disconnected from the Lord and must be lifted up. Maybe we are walking unworthy of the Lord and need some discipline. Warren Wiersbe makes a good point:

“Jesus was teaching one main truth—the fruitful life of the believer—and we must not press the details too much. Just as an unfruitful branch is useless, so an unfruitful believer is useless; and both must be dealt with. It is a tragic thing for a once-fruitful believer to backslide and lose his privilege of fellowship and service.”[2]

Regardless of how you interpret these first three verses, the one thing that is clear is that if we lose our connection with the Lord and our purpose, our correction will be painful. This is the case because we have a purpose in our place.

Purpose in Place

Our place is in Christ. We abide in Him. The word “Abide” is critical in this section. In verses four through eleven, it appears ten times. In truth, the whole section focuses on abiding more than fruit-bearing because when we abide in Christ, we will produce fruit. That means focusing not on your fruit-bearing but on Christ and your connection with Him.

Yes, Jesus was teaching on our fruitfulness, but our fruitfulness wholly depends on Him and our connection to Him. It is dependent on our place in position, not us. Why is this the case? It is because abiding is “an unbroken connection…the necessity of a constant active relationship between the believer and his Lord….”[1]

Remember, as a believer, you are clean and in Christ. You have a grand position. You are in a place that is a place of power, peace, comfort, joy, and the ability to do all things. When we stay connected to Him and receive nourishment from His pure and perfect sap as the branches of His vine, we will remain productive and rightly positioned.

When we do this, we grow and become fruitful branches. We will become strong and faithful ranches that give shade and refreshment to many. We do this through Him and by Him because He nourishes us when we stay in our place with Him.

Verse four clearly teaches this. Look at what it says, “the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” Then, in verse five, we see, “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Without Christ, we can do nothing. We will be like that branch lying on the ground that broke off: fruitless and dying. We will be because we lost our place and wandered into our desires and passions.

Maybe those are like the ones I said in the beginning. Maybe you have decided to stay at home and watch church. Maybe you have decided that one verse a day is enough. Maybe you think those devotionals from the Christian bookstore with more heresy than good are enough. Maybe you think you can nourish yourself without being engaged with other believers in Christ who help.

Remember the show “Super Size Me” from 2004? In this series, Morgan Spurlock did an experiment where he would only eat McDonald’s for thirty days. He ate breakfast, dinner, and supper from there alone, nothing else.

He was consuming around five thousand calories a day by doing this. Over that one month, this man gained almost twenty-five pounds. He became moody and irritable. His color changed, and his cholesterol went through the roof. He also had an unhealthy fat accumulation on his liver. After he finished this experiment, it took him fourteen months to lose the weight he gained.

What this experiment proved was that a person subsisting on nothing but junk will suffer many disastrous side effects. This diet could have been disastrous to this man.

That is the diet you are on if you think you can live in this world without having your connection to Christ in place. That is your diet if you think you can make it in the world of wolves and death without connection to the other branches on the True Vine. That is your diet if you think you can make it by only watching television preachers, reading devotionals, or receiving one verse a day.

But that does not have to be your diet. Your diet can be that of the wonderfully nourishing sap of our Savior and other believers. We can live purposefully in our place when we take our nourishment only from the True Vine. When we receive His sap and His proper nourishment, we will grow spiritually and become mature believers who will not need to receive a scorching. We will become faithful followers who impact many with our vast and leafy shade that is full of excellent fruit because of our Savior.

If we leave Him for the lure of the world and eat only McDonald’s, we will become fat, greasy, moody, ugly, and bitter. You don’t have to be that way. No, you can be fruitful and healthy when you abide in Christ. By doing that, we will become productive and fruitful and bring glory to God. Which is the purpose of our living.

Purpose For Living

Even though we know this to be the truth, that we can do nothing without Christ, we still sometimes wander off. We sometimes become disengaged from Him and our fellow brothers and sisters.

Verse six speaks of those who fail to abide in Christ and wither and are burned in the fire. Many think this is a removal of believers. Some think it is proof they were never believers. But, I firmly believe a believer cannot lose salvation, and if someone was a branch at one point, then they had to be a believer.

So, we once again return to what Wiersbe said, “Jesus was teaching one main truth—the fruitful life of the believer—and we must not press the details too much. Just as an unfruitful branch is useless, so an unfruitful believer is useless; and both must be dealt with. It is a tragic thing for a once-fruitful believer to backslide and lose his privilege of fellowship and service. If anything, John 15:6 describes divine discipline rather than eternal destiny. “There is [for believers] a sin unto death” (1 John 5:16).”[1]

Maybe this is what Jesus is speaking of. Maybe Jesus is saying that if you stop abiding in me and only eat McDonald’s, death is what is in store for you. Maybe if you fail to follow Him fully, you will be cast out and taken home early. That is a severe punishment to a degree. But how, you may ask?

Well, if we are unfruitful here and we are taken out and taken home, we will suffer loss at the judgment seat of Christ and have regrets. We will miss out on what we could have had in heaven. Our rewards will be taken and given to others who were faithful, much like the parable of the talents. The two servants were faithful and gained goods for the master, while the third was lazy and did nothing. He lost out, and what he had was given to the others (c.f., Matt. 25:14-30).

Maybe the burning is scorching to make you better. Maybe it is a discipline that makes you useful because you have been further purged. Much like in South Texas, where the ranchers do not have much feed, they take pear burners out and burn the thorns off of cactus.

The prickly pear is useless as feed with the thorns, but cattle will still eat it. When a cow eats the cactus with the thorns on it, they get addicted to it, and it hangs in their throat. They get to where they can’t eat because the thorns have hung and caused grief. So, the ranchers down there know this, and they burn the thorns off so the cows can eat them. The pear becomes useful after being burned.

Maybe this is what Jesus is saying. Maybe He is saying you will be burned if you do not get useful. “If you fail to abide in Me,” He says, “you will be disciplined harshly, and this discipline will either make you useful here or you will be removed and taken home.”

I don’t find either one appealing, personally. I do not think either would be much fun, especially since the pruning is painful enough, and it is done in pure love. I think this harsh statement is to get us to stay committed and focused on the Lord. He says in the next verse, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (15:7). Then, in the next verse, Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (15:8).

Jesus is saying that our purpose in living is to glorify the Lord. We do this by abiding and maturing. When we mature in Christ by His power in us, which is something we can do by His power in us, we will have mature prayers and actions. Our mature actions are demonstrated by our prayers.

How so? You may ask. When we have matured through abiding in Christ and by His Word, we will pray prayers that are God-focused and more for His glory to be known and seen over anything else. We will drop the prayers for material items in our lives and the lives of others.

This means we will stop asking for money and wealth or even physical health and beg and plead for stronger spiritual health and spiritual wealth. We will desire to see many saved and honor God over just saying they are saved. We will begin to beg and plead for God to use us to His glory every day and every night. We will not worry over petty material issues so much but seek to honor God in all we do.

We will not seek our way only and miss out on worship of God because something is not quite to our liking. We will live like the Lord is the only one who matters in all areas of our lives. We will be healthy in the Lord, and that will rub off. People will flee or be drawn to us because this happened to Jesus.

By this, we demonstrate, as the disciples then did, that we are His alone and nothing of the world. You will have the discipline to say no to McDonald’s and its junk. You will turn away from the evils and wickedness of the world. You will reject the lure of the television preachers, verse-a-day apps, and weak devotional books for the more meaty work of God’s Word.

When we abide in Christ, we will learn His word because He is the one helping us; we are nourished from His pure sap. We will learn, grow, and live a life of purpose because our life is purposefully being lived to glorify God.

Conclusion

There is this story of

A cheerful old man who asked the same question of just about every new acquaintance he fell into conversation with: “What have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?”

He never asked conventional questions such as “What do you do for a living?” It was always, “What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?” It was an unsettling question for people who had built their self-esteem on their wealth, family name, or exalted job title. Not that the old man was a fierce interrogator.

He was delighted by a woman who answered, “I’m doing a good job raising three children,” and by a cabinetmaker who said, “I believe in good workmanship and practice it,” and by a woman who said, “I started a bookstore, and it’s the best bookstore for miles around.” “I don’t really care how they answer,” said the old man. “I just want to put the thought into their minds.” They should live their lives in such a way that they can have a good answer. Not a good answer for me, but for themselves. That’s what’s important.”[1]

This is a good way for us to live our lives. We should ask the same question this man asked, “What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?” Our answer should always be a resounding “I live a life of purpose because I am abiding in Jesus Christ the True Vine, and through Him, I am becoming more and more of who I am supposed to be.”

I ask you today, are you nourishing your souls on the sap of the True Vine, or are you only eating McDonald’s? Are you in a constant connection to your Savior, or are you intermittent? I pray today you will look at Christ and find your hope, life, security, peace, direction, gifts, confidence, and purpose in Him alone. He is the great I Am–Purpose. He is the great I Am, and He is for you and offers you pure nourishment that will mature you into a strong, vibrant, and faithful follower of Him.

Stay connected and live a life of true meaning and purpose. Jesus is our purpose, and He will give your life meaning and purpose if you will abide in Him.