Connected Forever
“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” — John 15:11 (NIV)
I’d like to introduce you to Pando, the world’s heaviest and possibly oldest organism. Pando is a male quaking aspen tree in Utah's Fish Lake National Forest. Although it may look like a giant grove of separate trees, scientists found it is one organism with a single molecular structure. Pando weighs 6,600 tons and may date as far back as 80,000 years. Pando’s unity comes from its single root system.
The individual trees emerging from the root system are interconnected and mutually support one another. Pando reminds me of Jesus’s Last Supper message to his disciples, particularly John 15. Jesus wanted the disciples to understand the deep interconnection they shared and what it meant to their lives on earth and beyond.
THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES
The chapter begins with Jesus calling himself the true vine. He goes on to compare his connection to the disciples as one where he is the vine and the disciples are connected as branches, as in John 15:5 (NIV).“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.
Jesus goes on to compare their relationship to his relationship with his Heavenly Father, because he obeys the Father’s commands and remains in the Father’s love. Then Jesus completes his thought in John 15:11 by saying that placing his joy in the disciples will make their joy complete.
THE JOY OF PRESENCE
Through study and contemplation, I have come to believe that joy is God's very presence within us. This is why we can be joyful and unhappy at the same time. Happiness depends on happenings and circumstances, while joy rests on God’s nearness. In the midst of dire circumstances, we can rejoice because God is with us and spiritually equips us to face them.
John 15:11 logically follows from that definition. When Jesus places his joy in us, he becomes present within us. Nothing can be greater, so our joy is complete.
God's spiritual accompaniment enables us to fulfill the vision Jesus set out in John 15. We are interwoven with Jesus, like the vine and the branches—like Pando. We receive coaching and commands that help us execute God’s will and encourage us to remain in relationship. We bear much fruit and show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus.
EVERLASTING INTERCONNECTION
When we allow ourselves to become fully entwined with God, the connection is naturally eternal. God is everlasting, so we are, too. We become unstoppable because we know our spiritual existence never stops. We begin to live as eternal creatures with eternal perspective. Each moment in our lives connects to the whole of eternity we cannot see, but perhaps we can feel.
Imagine for a moment becoming so interconnected with God that we become inseparable, like a resolute branch stemming from a powerful vine. Mysteriously, it means we are linked to others intertwined with God. On the surface, we look like the individual trees of Pando. But underneath the surface, we are joined to others through the Spirit of God.
Prayer: Gracious God who desires to be with and within us, let me breathe in your Spirit right now. Allow me to feel your presence. Show me your vision of an eternity together. Even if I can’t fully see or comprehend it, let me feel it. Help me to see today as one in a series of days with you that stretch out infinitely. My finite mind cannot fully absorb such heavenly thoughts. But increase my trust to accept it and empower my actions through your commands to bear fruit as one of your branches. Amen.
Your Turn: How can you take these words and embed them? What does your day look like in the perspective of God’s constant presence and eternal connection? What fruit have you not borne that can now flourish because you remain in God’s love with complete joy? What circumstance are you facing that you can now experience differently with the joy of Jesus’s presence within you?
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