Right after Jesus prepared His disciples for His separation from them by calling them His friends – not servants – He reminded them of something very special.
“You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” [John 15:16 HCSB]
Our friendship with the Father through Christ Jesus, His Son, was not one of our choosing. We are God’s friends because He chose us to be so. He also chose us for a purpose, to go out into this world and bear fruit that remains.
I often hear people quote the last part of verse 16, “whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”
When they quote that verse, it is not always in the context in which it was spoken. It is sometimes quoted in a very selfish way … that God will give or do whatever they want if they ask for it by using “Jesus’ Name.” They quote it as if God is some dispensing machine in the heavens – put in the “Jesus’ Name” token and take out whatever you want.
The context, however, is different. The context is that God chose us to be His friends that we might go into this world and produce fruit that lasts.
Fruit that lasts is fruit that is eternal. It is produced through sacrifice and good works. It is born in the lives of others, not something we selfishly claim for our own greedy needs. It is not that new car or more money or a bigger house, it is patience with the unlovely, compassion for the hurting, love for the lost. That is fruit that remains … it remains all the way into and throughout eternity. That is the fruit that is always ours when we ask and seek it in “Jesus’ Name.”
