WEEK FOUR: STILL ALL IN

Several years ago I had the distinct pleasure of meeting a man named Hal Donaldson. Mr. Donaldson is the president and founder of the international relief organization Convoy of Hope (based in Springfield, Missouri). He is one of the friendliest and most cordial people I have ever met. Even in that first meeting, he made me feel like he had known me for a long time and like I was the most important person in the room at that moment. Since that initial meeting, I have had the opportunity to talk with him several other times (and even sat across the table from him at dinner one evening). In spite of this, although I know who Hal Donaldson is, I do not “know” Hal Donaldson. Outside of a couple of conversations, I am not connected with him.

Jesus said it this way in John 15:5, “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV) Remaining is the key. I met Hal Donaldson but I do not “remain” with him. I don’t have ongoing communication with him. I don’t get to spend time with him on a regular basis. I don’t work for his organization. I know him… but I don’t know him. 

So what does it mean to be connected or to have connections? It means that I have to consistently spend time with someone, but that requires relationship. Because I have a relationship with Jesus, I have the opportunity to spend time with him, to pray to him, and to do his work. I have the ability to be who he has called me to be. I have the opportunity to produce in and through my life what he wants me to produce. I can “bear much fruit.” So, what are you producing?

God’s goal is to help us to be before we do, to develop a deep personal connection to Jesus and then to begin producing his good fruit in and through us. But it is not just about being busy doing stuff; it is about staying connected to the source. It is about consistently spending time in God’s presence. Because when that happens, his Spirit flows through our lives and we naturally begin to produce the supernatural life of God in and through our own.