Recently, I have been preparing my physical therapy application. There are many boxes
to fill, experiences to log, and essays to write. Soon, I will submit the application and go through a series of interviews. This is quite an anxious process for me, as there is no guarantee that I’ll be accepted anywhere.
The school I attend will certainly affect where I will be when I launch my career.
Sometimes, I’m tempted to wish that God would come and just tell me what His plan is for my life. It would be nice to know which doors will open, what program will accept me, and where my career might go. However, I have a sneaking suspicion this will not happen.
We have a desire to know. We want to see a glimpse at what the future holds so that we
can prepare. We want to know that we are ready for any challenges that might come our way. We want to know what God is going to do and when it will happen. At the center of this desire to know, often, is the calculation of whether God’s plan is worth continuing. Yet, the peace and joy of Christianity comes not from knowing every detail of the plans of God, but from coming to know the goodness of His love and character. In John 15, Jesus eloquently shows us our position in the parable of the vine and the branches.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that
bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
When Jesus called the disciples, He simply said, “Follow me.” He did not tell them that
they would see the multitude eat, the blind healed or the dead raised. He didn’t tell them of the betrayal to come or the pain and triumph of the cross. The disciples often knew the general direction in which they were going, but they were unaware of what they might encounter when they reached their destination. The task of the disciples was to intimately get to know Jesus—to wake up every day and build a relationship with God himself. By getting to know Jesus and his love for all humanity, they became changed and were able to bear much fruit.
The same assignment is offered to us today. This might be surprising to hear, but the
ultimate goal of a Christian should not be to go to Heaven. It should be to be there with Jesus. What will make Heaven special won’t be the bejeweled construction of the pearly gates. The joy of Heaven will be the unfiltered access to the Savior. We can experience some of the delights of Heaven right now. The good news is that we don’t have to toil and sweat to create these good things. Our task as branches is to ensure that we are always connected to the vine. We do not have to know every detail of the future to be confident in our earthly walk. Through our connection to Christ and our willingness to be used by Him, we can have assurance that our lives will bear heavenly fruit.