16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.
John 15:16-17
Jesus is basically saying in the first part of this verse that we did not choose to have salvation in him of our own accord, but rather that He gave us the offer to have salvation in him by dying on the cross. Without Jesus’ decision to die on the cross to save us from our sins, there would be no option for us to dedicate our lives to him and be saved. This most likely isn’t something that most of us think about very often. However, this portion of the verse is absolutely critical to salvation. Without Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice His life for us, there would be no way for us to be saved. We would be certain to go to Hell with no hope of rescue. This, however, is not what Jesus wants for us. He has much bigger plans for us than allowing us to simply die and be separated from him forever.
If we make the choice to follow Him, Jesus wants us to go out to the world and spread the goodness of the Gospel. He also requests that we do good deeds in His name. Jesus teaches us another important life lesson here. Instead of striving to earn as many earthly things as possible, Jesus wants us to bear fruit that will last—even in Heaven—by doing good works for His glory. As we bear fruit, Jesus will equip us with whatever we need. This, however, does not exactly mean that we can ask for whatever we want for whatever reason.
Jesus specifically states that “the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name” after one accepts Jesus into his or her heart. This means that we can ask for anything we want that will allow us to better serve Him, and it will be granted to us, one way or another. It doesn’t mean that we only get what will help us to serve him better, though. The idea of the passage at large is that we “remain in Him.” Basically, we can ask for anything, as long as we are lined up with Christ. As we are in tune with Christ, we will desire what He desires for us (Psalm 37:4). Things we ask for simply out of greed or envy, such as a 60-inch flat-screen TV or a million dollars, will not be given to us. Only those items that we truly believe will help bring glory to Him will be given to us upon request. A large amount of spiritual maturity is needed to determine whether the things we’re asking for are for our benefit or Jesus’. Sometimes it can be BOTH, though. Our benefit and Christ’s benefit are not mutually exclusive, and poor spiritual maturity can sometimes make us believe that what we’re asking for would actually honor Him.
In fact, we may not need to ask for anything to honor Him other than the ability to love others. One of the best ways to give glory to God is simply by doing what Jesus did—loving others regardless of what they do to us. Think about it—clearly Jesus loved us very much when he decided to give up his life for us, so what better way exists for us to love Jesus than for us to show that same love to others?
Questions:
1. What are some things that you could ask for to give glory to God?
2. Why do we rarely consider the fact that Jesus gave us the choice to believe in Him? Does this mean that we take for granted the option of salvation?
3. What are some ways that you can show Jesus’ love to others?
Prayer Guide:
Thank God for giving you the gift of salvation. Ask him to better enable you to show Christ’s love to others, especially when it seems like they don’t deserve it. Write down some things that you could ask for that would help you praise Him, and try asking Him for some of these things.
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