5. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
We are filled with a desire to be treated well, but Jesus tells us to have a pure heart like that of a child. The disciples lost the pure heart they had when they first followed Jesus and began to desire to be treated well, and Jesus warns them to return to that initial heart. A childlike faith is one that completely trusts in God and believes in His word without question. We too must restore this childlike heart and maintain a deep relationship with God.
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We must return to a childlike faith
Six days of devotions drawn from this Sunday's sermon — one for each day, Monday through Saturday.
We desire to be served, but Jesus tells us to be servants. We must remember that serving others is more important than being served.
Five quick questions from this Sunday's message. Tap an answer to see if you're right.
Jesus told His disciples to have a pure heart like a child, not a desire to be treated well.
Hallelujah. Amen. Did you have a peaceful week? Let’s greet the person next to you with a bright smile. Did you have peace? Let’s greet each other. Did you have peace? Did you have peace? I sincerely hope that God’s amazing grace and peace will come upon all the lives of the saints who have come to this sanctuary and those who are worshiping from their respective places.
Everyone desires to be treated well. No one would refuse to be treated well by others. Respect means wanting to be treated well, wanting to receive love and attention, and enjoying being served by someone. In relationships between spouses, at home, at work, in church, and even in restaurants, we want to receive more treatment than others. Sometimes, when a restaurant owner casually says, “You look like a nice customer,” they might give a complimentary egg roll. When that happens, we feel so happy because it was given to us, and we brag about it, saying, “I received this service!” On the other hand, if someone else receives something and we do not, we make a firm resolution in our hearts that we will never go back to that restaurant again. It’s not that the egg roll is something extraordinary. It’s because we feel disappointed that we were not treated that way, and we feel joy when we are treated more specially than others.
A well-behaved three-year-old child kicks and pinches their younger sibling secretly because the treatment they received from their parents has changed after the sibling was born. This is where feelings of resentment and dislike arise. Today’s scripture also features people who wanted to be treated well. These people were the disciples who followed Jesus. The disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Jesus, when the kingdom of heaven comes, who will be the greatest? Who is the greatest? Who will receive more treatment? Is it perhaps Peter, your chief disciple? Or is it John, whom you love? Or is it someone else that no one expected?” The disciples were concerned about who would receive more treatment and who would be greater. This concern was not only held by the disciples but also by their families. Seeing their sons who had followed Jesus for two or three years without any significant events happening, the mother of James and John came directly to Jesus and asked Him to place her sons, James on His right and John on His left, when His kingdom comes. In modern terms, she was asking for her son to be appointed as the Prime Minister and the other as the Chief of Staff. You see, the disciples had this concern about who would be greater.
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