March 15
Below the Dirt
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ––Philippians 3:12-14
I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ––John 15:16
God planted the fullness of His love in you—the fullest expression loaded into the seeds of your salvation—and is committed to seeing His love fully worked out in your life.
All Him. He sees a dynamic process happening right now in you, as you search in His Word for the nutrients and living water you need. He sees you taking the life-giving truth of His love into your root system and watches as it works its way to the surface. The Gardener knows His planted ones, and the planted ones experience the care and loving commitment of the Gardener overseeing the process.
The vision is being realized.
There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. ––Philippians 1:6, msg
The God who began this work in you has the end in mind.
After we accept the person and work of Christ for salvation, the upward process of transformation begins and doesn’t stop until our hearts stop beating. That’s why we focused earlier on the heart versus the head. Information is not transformation. God isn’t looking primarily at what we know about Him; He’s looking at the love He has planted in us and where it takes us. As we are learning and growing, hidden issues and emotional processes “below the dirt” or surface of our lives can directly impact the levels of emotional growth and fruitfulness above the surface for all to see.
After we take that first step of accepting the love of God in the person of Christ, the battle is to remain in His love so we can remain in God’s process and fulfill His vision and hope for us. This is God’s call to continue following Him, which involves daily processes that cycle and recycle in our lives throughout the entire course of our earthly experience in Christ.
The gardener’s process requires a lifestyle of remaining in God’s love. This lifestyle is an each-day thing that brings about fruit that reflects the source. My mango trees make mangoes. My orange tree makes oranges. Fruit reflects the source. Our fruit (our character and conduct) reflects our strongest source that feeds our root system.
I trust you know at this point that our strongest source for identity, security, and maturity is the love and acceptance of God. So let’s start there and see what a lifestyle of remaining in God’s love looks like.
A first concrete step today? Ask Him to reveal any blind spots that might be inhibiting you from accepting His love. Any trauma from childhood, wounds from past relationships, or broken dreams. Revelation brings healing, and healing brings restoration.
Father, prune the tree that represents my life here on earth that I might bear amazing fruit for You.