My grandson is almost two and he finally has words, in fact he has new words every single day! He parrots two and three words at a time in conversation with the adults in the room precisely as if he understands every word and is participating in the dialog. He even uses the words in different order to make his own ideas known and will change his wording without a hint of frustration if you tell him you don’t understand. His one year old cousin is a copious talker, though we’re often unsure in which language. Still, Thomas carries on conversations with Amelia equally well. They seem to understand each other in ways that we cannot, but even if it’s entirely for fun, their expressiveness is pure joy and it is contagious. They bring to mind the apostle Paul’s advice to young Timothy and I quote it to them often.
“Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young.
Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.”
1 Timothy 4:12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1ti.4.12.NLT
Joy and stewardship go hand in hand and both are an overflow of the indwelling Holy Spirit and in response to God with us through faith in Jesus. Jesus illustrates this principle in a vineyard, pointing to Himself as the vine, His followers, God’s own, as the branches, and God as the vine dresser. Then he adds to the imagery using a word that translates abide, dwell, remain- words associated with a house but not a temporary shelter, a permanent home.
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you.
For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.
Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.
For apart from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.
Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.
But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.
This brings great glory to my Father.
I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.
Remain in my love.
When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
John 15:4-10 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.15.4-10.NLT
Again and again, Jesus drives the point home. The Father is building an unshakable kingdom, one that cannot be invaded or overthrown. The nation of Israel had experienced captivity and freedom, occupation and autonomy in its long history. The earliest Biblical narrative, the Genesis, introduces Abraham as the father of the nation, developing him as link to both Adam and to the messianic ruler in the line of David, and carrying through the Revelation when the true children of Abraham take their place in God’s eternal kingdom. The Gospels introduce Jesus, descended from David, descended from Abraham, descended from Adam, as all the fullness of God in human form. Jesus here presents His Father as actively grafting new branches into the old vine in Him. And why the repetition?
“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy.
Yes, your joy will overflow!”
John 15:11 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.15.11.NLT
Priests, prophets, fathers and mothers among God’s people recounted the wondrous works of the Lord, repeating Israel’s history with the one true God generation after generation as God commanded Moses in the wilderness. These historical recitations were less history lessons and more faith building practices for a nomadic people with little written storyline. God was tying them to Himself with His Word even before the Word became flesh and dwelled among them. He was not only giving them a history but a hope and a future. He was reminding them and us that His plan is one from beginning to end and it excludes no one. Abiding in Him and remaining in Him by obeying His Word brings overflowing joy, complete joy, His joy to every believer.
You may not be blessed with material wealth but one thing we all have in abundance is influence. Whether it’s the ever-listening ears of the little people in your home, your coworkers, or the couple in earshot of your table at the coffee house, what do your words and the manner in which you speak them say about you, your home and family, and if you are a believer, about Jesus and your proximity to Him? Are you abiding temporarily, on Sundays until the shine wears off, or are you remaining in Him, allowing His Word to remain in you and His mercies to reach you, new and fresh each morning and sufficient for the day?
Influencers are so called for their ability to sway the masses but where are they actually pointing? Are they like an oscillating fan, directing their words and our attention first to one trend and then to another? Jesus said such people are like ships tossed on the waves. They are unstable in all they do. Rather than directing the attention of others always to Christ, their loyalties are divided from God by the pleasures of the world and self-fulfillment, self-gratification, self-actualization becomes their god. When they sense the tides turning, they hurry to jump on the next bandwagon.
Yet God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His Word never changes and it never fails. In every generation, His Word goes out and He accomplishes His purposes. This is precisely why Jesus warned that the world would hate His followers because it hated Him first, saying we are to be in the world but not of the world, and giving us armor and a Sword, His powerful Word, to stand firmly in Him when all the world is a slippery slope around us and we are under attack from an opportunistic enemy who was not afraid even to take the Lord of heaven and earth to task when He put on human flesh.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.
He will not rebuke you for asking.
But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.
Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
James 1:2, 4-8 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jas.1.2-8.NLT
“Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees.
These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.
The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.
But some people have missed this whole point.
They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions.”
1 Timothy 1:4-6 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1ti.1.4-6.NLT
“The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.”
Proverbs 20:27 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.20.27.NLT
“You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you.
You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.
Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.
And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.”
1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 34 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.10.34.NLT
“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”
Philippians 2:3-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/php.2.4-5.NLT
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Hold firmly to the word of life.”
Philippians 2:13, 16 NLT
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